Watch: Middelburg High Court hears Liberty Coal bid amid Optimum mine unrest

Protesters gathered at the Middelburg High Court as Liberty Coal seeks relief against demonstrations linked to disputes over community exclusion at the Optimum mine.

Scores of protesters have gathered outside the High Court in Middelburg, where Liberty Coal is seeking relief against ongoing protests it claims are being orchestrated to destabilise operations at the Optimum mine.

According to Middelburg Observer, the matter has been enrolled on the court roll for today, with legal representatives awaiting the presiding judge.

Community opposition

Hundreds of protesters are picketing in opposition to Liberty’s efforts to exclude community stakeholders from Optimum’s turnaround strategy.

Liberty appointed its affiliate, Liberty Mining Services, as the principal contractor at Optimum following its separation from Salaria late last year.

Political support outside court

The community is being supported outside court by members of both the EFF and the ANC.

Municipal manager Mandla Mnguni has also been served with papers in the matter.

Stakeholder forum dispute

The community says Liberty disbanded the community stakeholders forum without any consultation, resulting in the backlash.

Watch the video:

@middelburgobserver

Community members gathered outside the Middelburg High Court on Monday as Liberty Coal applied for an urgent court interdict to halt ongoing protests at Optimum Mine and other Liberty Coal properties. The mining company alleges that the demonstrations are being orchestrated by former mining partners. The matter is expected to be heard later today.

♬ original sound – MiddelburgObserver – MiddelburgObserver

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.

Read original story on www.citizen.co.za

At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

Support local journalism

Add The Citizen as a preferred source to see more from Network News in Google News and Top Stories.

Middelburg Observer

The article was written by journalists from Middelburg Observer.
Back to top button