An emerging coal mining company from Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal has scored a temporary court relief in its battle to claw back a mining site rich in coal that has been violently taken from it by its competitors.

Kangra Coal (PTY) Ltd had to rush to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to evict Mintiro Coal and Constructo Civil Construction and Mining Services from continuing to occupy and mine coal from Farm Townlands in Utrecht, which has large, high-quality coal deposits.

It also had to evict Ralesa Mines, Aluswe Group and Fezile Security Services – the heavily armed security company currently guarding the site and preventing its directors and employees from accessing it.

The dispute started when two licences were issued for the same site, prompting Kangra Coal to take the matter to court.

The court has given all parties until 13 April 2026 to file their papers and show cause why the order declaring Kangra Coal as the rightful owner of the site and the holder of the mining licence should not be made final.

Cited in the court papers are the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, the EMadlangeni Local Municipality, and KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, amongst others. Also cited are the local police, who have been directed to remove all those illegally occupying the site.