Africa Wild

‘Misfiling’ snare in North West game corridor plan
BY SUE BLAINE, 11 JANUAR 2013, 07:08

BUREAUCRATIC technicalities could sink a proposed game corridor between North West’s Pilanesberg and Madikwe parks.

The Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE) has claimed the corridor is jeopardised by mining activity.

The Department of Mineral Resources — which gave the go-ahead last year to changes to mining company Platmin’s post-operations land rehabilitation programme — said on Thursday that it was unable to officially deal with an appeal by the environmental group as it had not lodged it properly.

The group alleged that the corridor, agreed to in a 2005 deal between the North West Parks Board and Platmin, would no longer be viable due to the extent of mining activities by Platmin — and other miners — in the area.

FSE CEO Mariette Liefferink said on Thursday she was "perplexed" by the department’s claim as she had filed the appeal in the same way she had filed many previous appeals.

She had an e-mail from the department’s legal services directorate acknowledging receipt of the appeal, she said.

"If it wasn’t done correctly, why didn’t they tell us? We’ve had no correspondence," she said.

The appeal was lodged early last month, and the FSE paid R500 to lodge it. Business Day has seen the receipt.

The group claimed the changes Platmin had been allowed to make to its environmental management plan effectively meant that the game corridor would not be feasible because it would be only 200m wide in places — not wide enough to allow the safe passage of dangerous animals. The two parks are home to the "big five": lions, buffalo, elephants, leopards and rhinos.

Department spokeswoman Zingaphi Jakuja said it gave Platmin the go-ahead to flood the mine pit instead of backfilling and rehabilitating the land when its open-cast pit mining operations ceased. This was because Platmin had properly consulted with "interested and affected parties", including the landowner, the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela, who backed the miner’s changes.

The Bakgatla Ba Kgafela’s status as landowner is the subject of a dispute that has made it to the Constitutional Court.

Ms Liefferink said the FSE was a listed interested and affected party and neither it, nor several local communities had been properly consulted.

North West Parks Board CEO Alan Losaba said he was not aware of any dam planned for the corridor. Even so, a dam’s presence did not mean the corridor was jeopardised, he said.

Platmin said the pit flooding would create "a substantial water capture and storage facility in this water-scarce area".

But the FSE said it would narrow the corridor, hurting its tourism and conservation potential, and reducing the availability of water for farming and for local communities.

© BDlive 2012

Note for investors for information
16 January 2013
Recent media articles criticising Platmin derive from a document dated 2 December 2012, submitted by the Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE) to the DMR.

The facts relating to the matter are as follows:

In 2007, Platmin signed a MoU offering to collaborate with the relevant authorities on establishing an open corridor between the Pilanesberg and Madikwe National Parks. The proposed so called Heritage Park Corridor was then modified and optimised in consultation with the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB). At the end of the life of the Tuschenkomst /Sedibelo West mine, the flooded pit and contoured waste dumps could form part of the features within the corridor, with the flooded pit in particular providing a water resource for both the community and wildlife. Platmin remains committed to honouring this agreement and facilitating the creation of this corridor by the NWPTB.

In 2007, Platmin’s application for mining rights at its Pilanesberg Platinum Mine (PPM) was accompanied by its statutory Social and Labour Plan (SLP) and submitted to the DMR on 21 September 2007. The following paragraph has been extracted from page 16 of that document. Chapter D.7 entitled “Post Closure Planning”, indicated that the proposal to flood the pit pre-dates the revised EMP, which has been referred to in the media articles:

Quote “Further, it is envisaged that the open pit area will be flooded to some degree as part of the mine rehabilitation plan in order to facilitate a suitable environment for game development. As such the mine will facilitate the development of a game park within the current game park corridor in the Pilanesberg area and help to rehabilitate previously mined land into the original natural environment whilst assisting local community members to benefit from such economic ventures.”
Platmin lodged an application with the DMR to amend its EMP closure objectives in September 2010. This was in line with the preparation for the acquisition and incorporation of the Sedibelo West mineral rights (March 2011). This amendment expanded on the plans to flood the pit by harvesting the seasonal floods which occur in the area, which at present pool on the plains and evaporate. This results in the flood water currently being lost to the system. Pit flooding from seasonal floods and ground water, at the end of the life of the mine, will create a substantial water capture and storage facility in this water-scarce area. The application was considered and duly approved by the DMR in 2012.

There is no water pollution associated with platinum mining. It is expected, that the dam created in the redundant pit, will not only provide a source of good quality water, but also a foundation for sustainable economic development – including irrigation, industry and leisure activities.

Extensive work was undertaken in advance of the EMP amendment and scientific studies were conducted by recognised academic and technical experts. Consultations were held with interested and affected parties, in particular the local Bakgatla community. During the period between October 2010 and October 2011, consultation meetings were held with local communities and IAP's regarding the amendment. These included more than 20 public participation meetings, multiple scoping meetings and two legotlas (traditional meetings) – at which all 32 villages falling within the jurisdiction, Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela Traditional Administration were represented. Discussions with the Departments of Water and Environmental Affairs; Land Affairs and Rural Development; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and Mineral Resources were also held.

The FSE appeal to the DMR mentions a number of additional concerns, some of which are listed below.

PPM is operating without a valid water use licence:

The integrated water use licence application (IWULA) for PPM was submitted on 4 April 2008. It is common knowledge that there is a backlog of these applications. PPM, in common with many other mining operations, operates with the knowledge of and under close scrutiny by the Department of Water Affairs. A draft IWUL was issued on 20 August 2009.

Failure to compensate locals for damage to buildings caused by blasting, drop in borehole water levels, reduction in land for grazing:

Platmin notes that no third party has claimed compensation for damage caused by blasting (nor has the analysis of PPM’s monitoring revealed any such damage). Similarly there have been no borehole claims, and monitoring indicates that no landowner/user has yet been affected. One farmer has been assisted to relocate.

Inadequate consultation with I&APs:

PPM maintains that it is both sensitive to and has developed its closure objectives in conjunction with the community that is most affected by mining operations. While closure plans have evolved during the life of mine, they have become more, rather than less, environmentally and socially sustainable.

Diversion of the Wilgespruit:

The amended EMP did not deal with an application to re-divert the Wilgespruit. Rather, the rediversion to its original water course was a commitment approved in the original EMP 2007.

In summary:

At the heart of the FSE objection is the location of the Tuschenkomst Open Pit within the proposed Heritage Park Corridor – “a nature-based, tourism anchor project that seeks to improve the socio-economic situation of the affected communities”. It believes that flooding the pit, instead of backfilling and rehabilitating, will result in the Corridor being narrowed to approximately 1km in width between Ngweding and the flooded pit. As this area will also include a rehabilitated waste rock dump, with less than 200 metres of natural vegetation, the concern is that the resulting corridor, at 1,0km wide, will be too narrow for animals to traverse effectively.

The original corridor contemplated by the authority was only 1,5km wide. Thus this debate is somewhat academic. In addition, on mine closure, the currently available 1,0km wide corridor would in any event be increased back to the 1,5km width originally envisaged or moved back to the originally proposed position.

Intensive scientific studies to determine the viability of flooding the pit have confirmed that it is viable and sustainable from an environmental and socio economic point of view. It also provides an extremely valuable water resource in a water deprived region. Platmin has not reneged on any commitment, it is party to ongoing discussions with the North West Parks and Tourism Board and is committed to re-assessing options for creating a suitable game corridor. North West Parks Board CEO Alan Losaba was quoted as saying that although he was not aware of a dam planned for the corridor, “... a dam’s presence did not mean the corridor was jeopardised.”

For further information
Tom Dale,
CEO, Platmin
+27 12 661 4280

Charmane Russell
Russell & Associates
+27 11 880 3924
+27 82 372 5816