Residents allege Tendele is acting unlawfully and appears to be breaching the spirit of previous undertakings to hold off on any 'mining or related activities' until a court case has been resolved.

Barely two weeks before a crucial court case that could decide the future of the Tendele Coal Mining company, a bulldozer and other heavy earthmoving machinery have started to break ground on a hotly contested patch of community land in rural KwaZulu-Natal which the company hopes to mine for anthracite.

However, several residents -- who stand to be evicted from their ancestral homes to make way for Tendele's three proposed new mining pits close to the town of Mtubatuba -- are set to launch a second urgent high court interdict on Wednesday, May 24, unless the company provides a cast-iron assurance that it will halt any mining or earthmoving activity (including access roads) immediately.

The residents, under the flag of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation (Mcejo), allege Tendele is acting unlawfully and appeared to be breaching the spirit of previous undertakings to hold off on any "mining or related activities" until the Pietermaritzburg High Court makes a final ruling on Mcejo's first interdict application against Tendele.

Mcejo's first urgent interdict was lodged in court on March 6 and was due to be heard on April 4. However, following subsequent legal interventions by Tendele, the Mpukunyoni Traditional Council and two...