Scores of farmers in the Free State and Mpumalanga complain that the first they hear of applications approved by the department of mineral resources is when representatives of mining companies arrive on their farms to start drilling.

The department's spokesman, Jeremy Michaels, said that according to the department's latest annual report, it had received 20,163 applications to mine and prospect between 2004 and 2009 - of which 16,190 were accepted and 3653 rejected. Of the 16,190, 5805 were issued with mining and prospecting licences.

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