High Court Judge Andree-Jeanne Tötemeyer has granted relief to conservancies in the Kunene Region, halting mining activities carried out by one Timoteus Mashuna in the Sorris Sorris conservation area, which hosts the endangered black rhino species. The judge said that only about 3,500 remain globally, with Namibia holding close to one-third of the global population. The western Kunene rhinos are the largest population of free-roaming black rhinos anywhere in the world and are classified as a Key-1 population by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Mashuna holds a total of nine mining claims in the area. Another court, presided over by Judge Esi Schimming-Chase, had previously also halted the mining activities of one Ottilie Ndimulunde, who was conducting mining in the same area. The application against mining activities was brought by the Doro !Nawas Conservancy, Uibasen Twyfelfontein Conservancy, and #Aodaman Traditional Authority in conjunction with Ultimate Safaris (Pty) Ltd, while the respondents include Mashuna, the Environmental Commissioner, and the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, among others.