One thing is clear, for this community it is personal.

A group of people living on a portion of the farm that belongs to Roelf Botha, say that they are being bullied by the mine. They complain that promises of houses to be build for them have fallen through and that blasting are taking place close to their houses, causing structural damage and posing a serious threat to their lives.

“We are constantly kept in the dark. We do not know anything and we do not know who to trust,” says Johannes Phagamani, one of the spokespeople for the community.

They claim that they are currently engaged in a “David against Goliath” fight for life as they know it. The community do not own the land they live on. But, for the moment, they have a right to live on the land and have enough grazing for their 40+ head of cattle.

Once they move, they might move into better houses, but their grazing field, like so many other hectares of fertile land, will be turned into a mine-heap. But it is not only the mine and the landowner that poses a threat; ironically, it is their fellow countrymen, a community who won a portion of the Kromkrans farm in a land claim, that first sold out to the mine and caused it to move onto the Kromkrans community’s doorstep.

They took the matter to court, only for them to find out that their lawyer works for the very same mine they are trying to take a stand against. They say that they became suspicious when their lawyer arrived at court and made an excuse before court for the absence of the mine CEO.

The community, consisting of about eight households, are not entirely innocent, the CEO of NKK mining says.

Mr. R.O. Kgosana says that numerous attempts to consult with them have delivered no results and accuses them of racism and being uncooperative. He himself have been prohibited to deal with them directly after concerns about his safety arose.

He says that the community are being paid almost R50 000 in compensation per month. This includes access to free medical care and many of them are employed by the mine.

Mr Kgosana says that money to build eight houses have been set aside, but that the community keeps on changing their minds about where the houses are to be build.

The community want the houses to be build on the farm where they currently reside. They say that they were not made aware of plans to move them until the last minute. The problem is that plans to mine the portion they are living on have already been approved, so building the houses there will mean that it will have to be demolished in the near future.

Negotiations with the land owner, Mr Botha, have not started yet.

“They are angry with us, and have even gone as far as threatening our lives,” says Magda Botha, the wife of Mr Botha.

She says that the mineral rights are not theirs to sell as it has been disowned by the state years ago and that they are in the same boat as the disgruntled Kromkrans community.

“It is out of our hands. We do not have a say in what our neighbors do. They were the ones that sold to the mine. We do not know what is going to happen to our farm. We do not want money, we just want to be able to keep on farming.”

The mine claims that strict safety measures are in place where blasting is concerned. Notices of a planned blast are given days before and an evacuation team stands ready to transport the people within the danger zone to safety for the duration of the blasting period. Pictures of the houses have been taken before hand and serves to determine damage caused by blasting.

“They often refuse to evacuate at the very last minute, once the explosives are already in the ground. That is something we cannot take out once it has been placed., it is very dangerous. We then have to beg and explain the dangers again and pray that they comply,” says Mr Kgosana.

He says that the community refuse to deal with white mine managers and have threatened to involve the Economic Freedom Fighters to close down the mine.

“They want the mine for themselves. But this is not Zimbabwe where you can just take what you want. This is South Africa, and we have to build it and protect it. Otherwise, what will be left for our children?”