Read More: Graves a Barrier for Jindal’s $2 Billion South African Iron Mine

The company will appeal the decision within three weeks  and would expect a ruling within 100 days of that, Parshant Kumar Goyal, the general manager for mines and business development at Jindal Africa, said when contacted by Bloomberg.

Delays in securing the permit won’t affect the timing of the mine development as a six-month period for procedural delays had been built into the plan, he said. Operations are expected to start operations in 2027 and reach peak production in 2031.

The planned development has been opposed by local communities, who say thousands of homes and graves would need to be relocated. Jindal has said all resettlement and grave relocation decisions would be made in consultation with the communities.

Jindal is controlled by Asia’s richest woman, Savitri Jindal, and her family.