FOR years, the people of Jagersfontein believed they were sitting on a fortune.
The towering tailing dumps – massive heaps of waste left behind by a century of diamond mining – represented more than just discarded earth: they symbolised a second chance.
But that dream was officially crushed when the High Court in Bloemfontein dismissed a R30 billion damages claim brought by the Jagersfontein Community Trust (JCT) against the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.
The court ruled that the case had expired under prescription laws and that the trust had failed to secure the landowner’s consent – a decision that now leaves the community with little recourse and even fewer economic prospects.
Jagersfontein, a small Free State town with a rich diamond-mining history that lies about 116 km south-west of provincial capital Bloemfontein, has long struggled with high unemployment and poverty.
The JCT, a body representing local interests, was formed in 2009 with the goal of securing mining rights that could redirect wealth into the hands of the people rather than multinational corporations.
The trust submitted its application for prospecting rights in September 2009, targeting diamonds still trapped in tailing dumps – waste that, with modern extraction techniques, could still yield substantial value.
“We believed this would change everything,” said one of the trustees who represented the plaintiffs in court.
“It wasn’t just about diamonds – it was about jobs, education and a future for Jagersfontein’s children.”
For years, the trust pressed the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) for an answer.
They provided the required Environmental Management Plan, followed the legal process and waited.
But when the government failed to grant their request, the community launched a lawsuit in 2022, claiming that had their rights been approved in time, they would have generated at least R30 billion in earnings between 2013 and 2021.
On 6 January 2025, Judge Van Rhyn ruled against the trust, upholding the government’s special plea of prescription – a legal argument that claims must be filed within three years.
“The plaintiffs knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that their application was declined by 2013,” the judgment stated.
“Their claim for damages was extinguished by prescription by 2016 at the latest.”
The court also found that the landowner’s consent – a critical requirement – had never been secured.
The tailing dumps, which the trust hoped to mine, belong to De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd, which refused to give permission for prospecting.
“The plaintiffs have not acquired a right to prospect for diamonds in respect of the property due to the fact that the application to acquire such right was declined,” Judge Van Rhyn said.
Additionally, the court found that the trustees did not act diligently in challenging the decision, waiting nearly a decade before filing their lawsuit.
“The plaintiffs instituted the action against the defendant approximately nine years after they knew, or reasonably ought to have known, that the application for prospecting rights had been declined,” the ruling stated.
“Extinctive prescription regulates the effect of the passage of time on obligations . . . it causes effective loss of the right to enforce an obligation after a certain period.”
For residents, the ruling is more than just a legal defeat – it is a symbol of a system stacked against them.
“We did everything by the book, and still we lost,” another trustee said.
“Now we’re left with nothing, while the big mining companies keep getting richer.”
The community had hoped that a victory in court would set a precedent – one that could empower small towns across South Africa to reclaim mineral wealth once controlled by colonial-era corporations.
Instead, they are left wondering what comes next.
With the case dismissed, there are no legal grounds for compensation and the government is under no obligation to revisit the application.
Judge Van Rhyn emphasised that the government had acted within its rights.
“The defendant’s duty to render the required performance, to grant the prospecting rights to the plaintiffs, remains a personal obligation between persons,” the judgment stated.
“In this case, the plaintiffs did not obtain any prospecting rights, and their claim for damages is accordingly dismissed.”
For now, Jagersfontein’s diamond dreams remain buried beneath legal jargon and corporate interests.
The trust may explore new negotiations with De Beers, but without pressure from policymakers, the odds of a community-driven mining initiative seem slim.
Jagersfontein’s legal battle highlights wider issues in South Africa’s mining industry – an industry where historically disadvantaged communities continue to struggle for a share of the wealth.
With mining giants still controlling much of the country’s diamond and mineral reserves, legal disputes over land rights and economic empowerment are likely to continue.
But for Jagersfontein, the fight seems to be over—at least for now.
For the town’s residents, the diamond-rich tailing dumps will remain exactly what they have been for decades: massive, looming reminders of what could have been. – Staff Reporter