Anglo Platinum has been ordered to return ancestral land in South Africa to the Ga Mawela community.

The Ga Mawela Land Claims Committee said on Wednesday that the Land Claims Court in Rundberg ordered the platinum mining firm to return the disputed land to the 200 household community, said to make up the poorest area of the Limpopo province.

Simon Tebele of Anglo Platinum said his firm had not and would not in future oppose the matter, and said that the company welcomed the ruling.

Despite Anglo Platinum's conciliatory tone, community representative Tiny Mankge said that the ruling brought to an end a five-year battle between the land claims committee and the platinum company.

"The court ordered that the Department of Land Affairs negotiate with the Rustenburg Platinum Mines [a subsidiary of Anglo Platinum] to purchase the land — if possible, by agreement, otherwise by expropriation," he said.

One lawyer told iAfrica that the case set a precedent for mining firms.

"The case has set a precedent for the mining sector under which a mining company, in this case Anglo Platinum, must manage its mineral rights and mining interests in such a manner that it does not conflict with the rights and interests of other land users", said Durkje Gilfillan, a Legal Resources Centre lawyer acting for the community.


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