Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:37 [miningmx.com] -- AFRICAN Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Anglo Platinum (AngloPlat) are taking direct legal action against Australian junior Nkwe Platinum to settle a dispute over ownership of mineral rights.
Confirming this at the ARM interim results presentation held in Sandton on Monday, ARM CEO André Wilkens told Miningmx: "We have tried to settle this out of court because the department of mineral resources (DMR) was keen that it should not end up in court, but we have failed.
“We are taking a firm stand on this and are now going to get a ruling from a judge on who owns these prospecting rights.
We at ARM are not prepared to give anything away. This action is being brought by both ourselves and AngloPlat because we are 50/50 joint venture partners in Modikwa but, if AngloPlat wants to give up some of their 50% stake, that’s their decision.”
Wilkens' statement opposes the one made by Nkwe director Peter Landau on January 13, in which he claimed the matter had been settled.
The ground in dispute forms what is known as the Modikwa Deeps - the deep-level, down-dip extensions to the platinum bearing reefs being mined at the Modikwa Platinum mine which is jointly owned by ARM and AngloPlat.
The five farms in question - Nooitverwacht 324KT, Eerstegeluk 327KT, Hoepakrantz 291KT, Garatouw 282KT and De Kom 252KT – are contiguous with Modikwa. These farms make up Nkwe’s Tubatse and Garatau projects on the eastern limb of the platinum-bearing Bushveld geological complex.
