The Constitutional Court has upheld a High Court judgment granting China-based Baowu Group subsidiary, Aquila Steel, a mining right over its Gravenhage manganese deposit, located in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.
Aquila’s planned development of Gravenhage has been delayed for several years by an overlapping claim by Pan African Mineral Development Company (PAMDC).
In November 2016, the High Court set aside PAMDC’s claim, upheld Aquila’s prospecting right and granted Aquila’s mining right application over Gravenhage.
However, in late 2017, PAMDC successfully appealed the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
The Constitutional Court on Friday set aside the SCA judgment and upheld that of the High Court.
As a consequence, Aquila has been granted the mining right, subject only to administrative steps to be implemented within three months by the Mineral Resources Minister.