In a significant legal development, fishermen are launching a legal challenge against marine diamond operations situated off the western coast of South Africa. Their contention revolves around the assertion that mining rights for shallow sea areas and an extensive 85km coastal stretch were bestowed and subsequently renewed without adequate consultation.
The legal proceedings, scheduled to commence today on August 29, are set to take place at the Western Cape High Court. The opposing side in this legal tussle is Trans Hex Operations, a company engaged in both marine and land-based diamond operations in South Africa and Namibia, along with vested interests in Angola.
The mining rights that have become the focus of this dispute were initially granted to Trans Hex (formerly known as Moonstone Diamond Marketing) during the period spanning 1994 to 1998.
In a pivotal turn of events, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMRE) extended the trio of sea concessions held by Trans Hex, headquartered in Cape Town, in 2015. This extension effectively elongated the company’s rights over these concessions for an additional 30 years.
This legal battle underscores the complex interplay between resource exploitation and the rights of local stakeholders, setting the stage for a courtroom clash with implications reaching far beyond the immediate parties involved.
