Motsepe's Tanzanian legal troubles not over

Mining firm Pula has filed an appeal to challenge the outcome of a $195m case for damages in a Tanzanian court against SA billionaire Patrice Motsepe and his affiliate companies. Pula and its Tanzanian unit sued Motsepe and his associate firms – African Rainbow Minerals, African Rainbow Capital Investments and ARCH Sustainable Resources – for allegedly breaching a non-compete contract when it invested in Australia’s Evolution Energy Minerals, whose Chilalo project is located next to Pula’s graphite project, according to court documents. Judge FM Mirindo struck the case off the roll in a 7 August judgment because Pula didn’t join Evolution companies he considered necessary parties. News24 notes he didn’t determine if the confidentiality contract was breached and didn’t award any damages. Pula has now filed a notice of appeal that states it ‘was dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court of the United Republic of Tanzania’ and that the group appealed ‘against the whole of that decision.’ African Rainbow Capital is aware of the notice of appeal, it said, adding that the notice doesn’t set out the grounds of the appeal and that it was therefore too early to comment.