20110429
reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African farmers who lost their privately-owned mineral rights when a new mining act came into effect in 2004 can claim for financial losses, farmers' group Agri SA said following a court ruling.

The mining act, which sought to avoid discrimination in the system and to better distribute assets among historically disadvantaged groups, ended private ownership of minerals and transferred them back to the state.

In a landmark judgment the high court in Pretoria ruled on Thursday that private holders of mineral rights under the former arrangements were entitled to compensation as the mining act had expropriated the holder of property.

"This ruling confirms the fundamental principle in section 25 of the Constitution, namely that property cannot be expropriated without compensation," Johannes Moller, president of the farmers' group, said in a statement.

The government's minerals department said in a separate statement it was disappointed by the outcome.

"(The department) is currently studying the judgment and will be taking legal advice from its legal team in deciding on an appropriate course of action," it said.