The High Court of Zimbabwe has struck off an application by Korzim Strategic Minerals (Pvt) Ltd seeking to review the forfeiture of its mining claims, bringing to a close a protracted legal dispute that has stretched over 15 years, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
Justice Priscilla Munangati-Manongwa ruled that Korzim’s application was fatally defective and ordered the company to pay costs to Fourteen Karate Mining Syndicate, the fourth respondent in the case.
Korzim had sought a review against the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, the Mashonaland Central provincial mining director, Kingston Nyamakura, and Fourteen Karate Mining Syndicate.
The case was struck off the roll for non-compliance with Rule 62(2) of the High Court Rules, 2021, which requires that a review application clearly set out the exact relief sought.
The dispute dates back to 2009, when Korzim accused Fourteen Karate Mining Syndicate of encroaching on its claims. An investigation by the mining commissioner revealed, however, that Korzim had pegged its claims on ground that was not open for prospecting.
Following this finding, the commissioner cancelled the claims and instructed Korzim to lodge an appeal with the minister within 30 days. Korzim’s claims were officially forfeited that same year, and the company was fully aware of the decision.
Despite this, Korzim filed a review application in 2015, which was dismissed for want of prosecution. Nearly a decade later, in 2025, the company once again approached the court insisting that it had only discovered the cancellation in April 2024.
Fourteen Karate Mining Syndicate opposed the claim and produced a 2015 letter from Korzim confirming that it had been aware of the cancellation and previous legal action, arguing that the latest application was meritless and a waste of the court’s time and resources.
Justice Munangati-Manongwa agreed with Fourteen Karate Mining Syndicate’s position, finding that the application had been filed more than 15 years after the forfeiture, far beyond the eight-week period prescribed by law.
The court also found that Korzim had fabricated a timeline to create the impression of recent knowledge of the cancellation and had failed to disclose the earlier dismissed review application. In her judgment, Justice Munangati-Manongwa stated that the application was “fatally defective and founded on dishonesty” before striking it off the roll with costs.
This is not the first time Korzim has found itself entangled in legal and regulatory challenges. In 2023, the company was taken to court by Auriga Mineral Exploitation over safety and environmental concerns after it allegedly constructed a tunnel under the Shamva–Nyagande road without the necessary Environmental Impact Assessment certificate.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) raised concerns about the potential risk to public safety posed by the underground works.
The judgment brings finality to a case that has been running since 2009 and signals the courts’ unwillingness to entertain stale or procedurally flawed applications, potentially setting a precedent for other long-standing mining disputes.
