JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Mining community networks, which will represent over 150 activists and community-based organisations, will be in the Pretoria High Court from Monday next week to challenge the Mining Charter published by the Department of Mineral Resources in June last year.

Mining Affected Communities United in Action, Women Affected by Mining United in Action and the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa - represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies - argue that the charter should be set aside for lack of meaningful community engagement.

They further state that the charter is one of the most important mechanisms South Africa has for promoting transformation and addressing the legacy of inequality in its mining sector and, while the most recent version of the charter may have some positive amendments, it was developed without meaningfully engaging the very people it is intended to benefit - mining affected communities.

"Instead, negotiations around the charter have involved only government, mining companies and some organised labour," they say.

Deeply concerned by this, the mining affected community networks approached the court to join a review of the charter brought by the Chamber of Mines against the Mineral Resources Minister.

The Court granted the networks leave to intervene in November last year, along with the individual mining affected communities of Bakgatla Ba Sefikile, Lesethleng, Babina Phuthi Ba Ga-Makola, and Kgatlu represented by Lawyers for Human Rights.

From Monday, the affected mining community will be asking the court to set aside the current charter for its failure to meaningfully engage with mining affected communities, and will further seek an order that mining affected communities are recognised as a core stakeholder who must be meaningfully engaged when developing any new charter.

"The court has already acknowledged that community networks have a direct and substantial interest in the Mining Charter by admitting our clients to the review," says Centre for Applied Legal Studies attorney Wandisa Phama.

Phama adds that the court, the State and mining companies will be requested to recognise mining affected communities as a core stakeholder that must form part of negotiating all policies that affect them.