Mining company sues critics

A CONTROVERSIAL Australian mining company has sued two environmental lawyers and a local community activist for defamation, claiming a total of R1.25 million in damages.

The subsidiary of the firm, Mineral Resources Commodities (MRC), which wants to mine the mineral sands at Xolobeni on the Wild Coast, says the two attorneys at the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), Tracey Davies and Christine Reddell, along with Davine Cloete, a West Coast activist, made defamatory statements about Mineral Sands Resources’ “environmentally destructive” Tormin mine on the West Coast.

But the CER has branded the action a Slapp suit, or strategic lawsuit against public participation. In the summons, filed on April 28, the company alleges the CER attorneys, and Cloete, made defamatory statements about Mineral Sands Resources and its director Zamile Qunya during presentations at UCT’s Summer School in January.

Davies said: “MRC has a poor reputation in this country, so it’s difficult to know how we damaged their reputation. We’re environmental lawyers and are vigorously challenging what we perceive to be unlawful actions by this company… This must be an attempt to silence us.”

The CER said: “This is not the first time that MRC has sued activists who have criticised the company.”