The Chinhoyi High Court has barred Beijing Broadtec Investments (Pvt) Ltd from carrying out any mining operations at the contested Mukovo 12 Mine in Mashonaland West Province, blasting the Chinese firm's conduct as unlawful and a threat to the late Josphat Mutizira's estate.

Justice Philda Muzofa, granting a provisional order, interdicted the company "together with its employees and/or agents and/or assignees" from mining or interfering with the estate's rights, pending the outcome of an appeal lodged with the Minister of Mines.

"The applicant has been on the mining location for over five years and has obviously heavily invested in the mining entity," Muzofa said.

"Even if there are no mining rights since they were suspended, in my view, the applicant still has the residual rights to protect its interests in the property."

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

The executor of the estate, Elmon Mutizira, approached the court after Beijing Broadtec allegedly violently invaded Mukovo 12 on June 27, evicted workers, vandalised equipment, and deployed guards at the site.

Justice Muzofa tore into the miner's defence that its presence at Mukovo 12 was merely for "security purposes," stressing that the company had no lawful rights to protect under its EPO (Exclusive Prospecting Order).

"If the 1st respondent is a law-abiding citizen, why would it resist such an order to prohibit activities at Mukovo 12?" the judge asked. "It has no mining rights to protect and... no right to post security at Mukovo 12."

The court also dismissed Broadtec's attempt to block the application on the "dirty hands" doctrine after accusing Mutizira of trying to sneak out of mine dumps. "There are no dirty hands to speak of," Justice Muzofa ruled. "It is incomprehensible that 1st respondent insisted that the applicant must not be heard until it purged its contempt, yet there was nothing to purge."

Finding the balance of convenience tilted in favour of the estate, Muzofa ruled that without the interdict, "the applicant stands to lose his equipment to vandalism. If the 1st respondent continues to conduct mining activities...the applicant stands to lose the value of minerals."

The order effectively freezes all activity at Mukovo 12 until the Minister of Mines determines Mutizira's pending appeal.