Richtersvelders oppose mine merger
The Richtersveld community says it may have to go to court to stop the proposed merger of De Beers Namaqualand diamond mines and state-owned diamond company Alexkor.
The merger agreement, signed on February 9, aims to create a new independent stand-alone diamond company, notes a report on The Citizen site. Willem Diergaardt, chairperson of the Richtersveld Sida Communal Property Association (CPA), said in a letter to Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin the Richtersvelders, who have been pursuing a multi-million rand land claim on Alexkors land-based operations, were not consulted on the move. He said the move could not be reconciled with the memorandum of understanding signed by the CPA and Erwin in 2006 in a bid to resolve the land claim after years of litigation. He also said it conflicted with an interdict secured by the community in 2003, when the State sought to privatise Alexkor while the land claim was still in dispute. Full report on The Citizen site