Provision of a reliable power supply for a planned platinum operation is being held back by complications over acquiring land through which to run power cables, it has been claimed.

According to the South African state power utility Eskom's Chief Executive Officer Brian Dames, legal wrangles with a single farmer over the acquisition of his land is delaying expansion of the entire platinum basin.

He told Mining Weekly: "There is one line where we have just five kilometres missing, because the land owner is refusing to give us access. This is effectively holding back the expansion in the platinum basin. We cannot have this as a country and that alignment needs to happen very, very quickly.

He added: "Most of the land is owned by farmers, and a lot of these farmers are foreigners, and that is where we are having most of our problems."

Mr Dames said that Eskom is lobbying for compulsory land acquisition orders to be issued to circumvent the problem.

Source:

Platinum power link being held hostage by one farmer, claims Eskom, 05/10/07
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=120508

Eskom resorts to land expropriation as farmers delay R15,5bn transmission roll-out, 05/10/07
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=120509

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