WELKOM – Harmony Gold has come under fire over an environmental spill on Willow Valley Egg Farm and the continued illegal land occupation of the farm Mealie Bult 49 next to Alma Nursery.

The Welkom Business Forum has intensified a protracted dispute with Harmony Gold Mining Company, issuing two demands. The first is for urgent remediation of a catastrophic slime waste pipeline spill at the egg farm, while the second demands immediate intervention over an illegal informal settlement that continues to devastate Alma Nursery.

The nursery is a family business established in 1988 and is widely regarded as the largest garden centre in the Goldfields.

The Forum has demanded urgent action from the mining company, warning that continued delays are causing environmental, economic and operational damage to local businesses.

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The land dispute dates back to February 2018, when an informal settlement began emerging on Harmony-owned land at Mealie Bult 49. According to correspondence supplied to Vista, the occupation gradually moved closer to neighbouring businesses, including the nursery.

Tjaart van der Walt of Alma Nursery says the settlement has resulted in waste encroachment, smoke from burning rubbish and noise affecting their operations.

“We have endured nearly a decade of intrusion and trespassing from the informal settlement.

“The occupation began in February 2018, when structures appeared some 300m from the business premises. The settlement has expanded to the boundary fence.”

Despite an apparent court interdict, a 200m buffer zone was never enforced. In November 2025, a 1 134m boundary wall was formally agreed upon with site handover targeted for January this year. Seven months later, no construction has commenced.

Harmony’s external attorneys, ENSafrica, are preparing an urgent application to halt further invasions, though the company denies liability for the occupiers’ actions.

Although Harmony had previously indicated that legal steps would be taken to address the occupation, the process has continued for years.

The Forum rejects Harmony’s contention that the land was offered to Matjhabeng Local Municipality, noting that the property remains a legal asset of Harmony Gold. It is demanding a trilateral meeting, on-site security deployment and a definitive written executive plan within five business days.

A major failure in one of Harmony’s slime waste pipelines inundated Willow Valley Egg Farm outside Welkom, flooding staff housing, cutting running water to the farmhouse and obstructing access to chicken houses.

Standing wastewater is reportedly attracting wild birds, raising grave biosecurity concerns including the risk of avian influenza. The farm’s boreholes may also face groundwater contamination.

Cleanup deadlines of 31 August for the residential area and poultry coop were missed. According to correspondence Harmony has committed to completing waste removal by 30 November – a timeline the Forum deems unacceptable.

It is demanding emergency crews, an interim water supply, soil and groundwater assessments, and a fully costed remediation plan within five business days, failing which it will escalate the matter to the Free State Legislature, Department of Water and Sanitation, Green Scorpions and the South African Human Rights Commission, among others.