In SA, Mining companies don't follow the rules

[iNdlovu]

It seems that mining comapnies in SA, in this case a subsidary of a Dutch company, don't have to follow the rules and get away with it. I am convinced that the only way this is happening is if large sums of money are changing hands.

SOS Mtunzini Conservancy





Save Our Sands (SOS) Mtunzini

Our Beautiful Natural Heritage

Dear Friends of Zululand and the environment,

Imagine our natural heritage in KwaZulu Natal - preserved in parks like Umfolozi, Hluhluwe, and Mkuze to mention a few. Think of the incredible privately owned game parks also conserving our natural heritage and underpinning the tourist industry. Picture how these preserves of biodiversity combine with the rural landscape, agriculture and forestry to produce the unique landscape that is KZN and that sustains the tourist industry. But then imagine an opencast mine for 20 years next to a Zimbali, next to Umfolozi, next to Mkuze Game Reserve. What would the impact be on these iconic places, of a development that must destroy everything to extract the minerals required for our flat screen TVs? What would the impact be of such an altered landscape on tourism in KZN and the jobs provided by these national assets?

Is it possible that in KZN, a game park or tourist lodge could suddenly find itself gazing into the void of a mining pit, or looking up at the blunt profile of a tailings dam instead of the natural tree line, while at the same time being buried in dust? Sadly, as things stand at the moment, the answer is yes, and for some the nightmare may be real! In fact it is about to happen to the picturesque coastal town of Mtunzini and to Twinstreams, the oldest environmental training centre in South Africa.

How is this possible in an area where regional and municipal planning have identified agriculture and tourism as the key drivers of development and growth? Well, it is certainly possible in a country where mining often appears to trump all, enabling it to avoid answering the tough questions that the various authorisation processes are intended to tackle. In the end result, authorisation is seldom turned down and is often a box-ticking exercise, and a mine is seldom held to account for the damage it causes.

The pressure to mine is real and it is growing. Currently there is prospecting on the sea bed off the north KZN coast for minerals and oil, and opencast mineral sand mining all along the east coast on the primary and secondary dunes, and now even further inland next to the Ongoye forest west of Mtunzini. Such rampant unplanned expansion of mining has the potential to ruin the eastern seaboard of South Africa and reduce it to chaos. The potential for sustainable job-creating industries like agriculture and tourism will be lost to short term open cast mining projects.

TRONOX KZN SANDS

The proposed TRONOX KZN SANDS Fairbreeze mine is a massive open cast mineral sand mining operation situated only 100 metres south of the picturesque coastal village of Mtunzini, and immediately east and west of the N2 freeway - the gateway to Zululand. This open cast mining process is a very destructive, unsightly process with uncertain prospects for rehabilitation post-mining.



It is well known that the Save Our Sands (SOS) Mtunzini Campaign is opposed to this mine in particular, and to open cast mineral sand dune mining in general, on the eastern seaboard of South Africa - with its high population and potential for tourism and agricultural industries. The SOS Mtunzini campaign is currently participating in all the authorisation processes currently in progress with respect to the Fairbreeze mine. Our objective is to get TRONOX KZN SANDS to do a full Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment, something that the law requires for this scale of activity, but which Tronox has avoided up to now. We believe that only then will there be a transparent and comprehensive evaluation of the project, which will result in it either being stopped, or modified to be less destructive to the environment and amenities of Mtunzini and a wider Zululand.

TRONOX KZN SANDS appears however, to be determined to mine at all costs and as soon as possible. The authorisation processes conducted by TRONOX KZN SANDS appear to be characterised by a lack of transparency, a propensity to take short cuts, and avoidance of the expected legislated process, so denying stakeholders administrative justice and severely prejudicing stakeholder rights – your rights. These are complaints that we have raised at every juncture in the authorisation processes.

Interdict

TRONOX KZN SANDS has recently started construction of the Fairbreeze mine before all the authorisations are in hand, and before the environmental appeal process has been completed. It contends that in respect of the bulk of the mine, it requires no planning approval, since it “commenced mining” in 2002. What it in fact did in 2002, was a sampling exercise, which it described as such in a public notice at that time, stating that mining would only commence some years later. It thus seeks to avoid any planning scrutiny of the vast bulk of the mine, on the basis that because in 2002 no planning approval was required, and because it “commenced mining” then, it is exempt. We contend that their interpretation is wrong, both in law and in fact. Since, however, Tronox has unilaterally started the mine, and clearly has no intention of stopping, we are required to interdict it until these authorisation processes are completed. Failure to do so will result in a fait accompli, because by the time the processes are completed, the mine will be up and running, and most of the environmental harm will have been done.



There is of course a much wider issue than just the plight of the Mtunzini community. Mining development without planning approval has profound implications for the future of KZN and other provinces. Municipalities are required to have clear development plans for their areas that spell out the future trajectory of development. If the mining industry is not subject to municipal planning and expects to be able to come and go as it pleases, what are the implications for local investment? Tourism is a long-term investment, and eco-tourism is critically dependent on the underlying environmental assets. It is simply untenable that mining – or any other enterprise for that matter - should have carte blanche to cut across long-term planning strategies, destroying a carefully crafted planning vision for the area, without subjecting the proposal to detailed planning scrutiny. We therefore say that this mine should in its entirety be subject to planning scrutiny before it starts, and any attempt to circumvent that – as TRONOX KZN SANDS is seeking to do – cannot be allowed.

At a Crossroads

We are therefore at a crossroads. It is sadly true that unless we as civil society act now to force TRONOX KZN SANDS to comply fully with the law, no-one else will. TRONOX KZN SANDS seems to have taken the stance that it will simply start mining, and continue unless someone stops it. If we don’t act who will? To do this we need to raise about R300,000 to interdict TRONOX KZN SANDS and compel it to stop mining until all the authorisation processes are complete. We believe the outcome of these processes will have a material effect on whether, or in what form, Mtunzini will have to endure this mine.


Yours faithfully
Barbara Chedzey
Chairperson Mtunzini Conservancy

SOS Mtunzini Committee members

Stan Whitfield: 083-655-8983
Barbara Chedzey: 083-326-0699
Doggy Kewley: 083-630-1839
Wendy Forse 082-722-3333
Jim Chedzey 083-326-0698
Bruce Hopwood 083-301-2958

[Richprins]

Sounds scary!

[Flutterby]

Does anyone follow the rules in this country??

[Mel]

Not as long as there is money in, Flutts. But that's the same everywhere. (0)

[iNdlovu]

In most civilized countries you don't get away with flouting and ignoring the laws. Here, if you're a big multi-national company and spread a bit of cash around, you get away with giving the middle finger to the countries laws. This surely must indicate that someone in the department that regulates permits etc. in the mining sector is receiving something to turn a blind eye and in so doing confirm the fact that people in so many African countries live for today and screw tomorrow. What chance do our pristine natural areas or wildlife have?

[Toko]

If you reas the parliamentary questions, it's obvious that there are (how many?) mines operating without water licence

[Lisbeth]

Hit-and-run miners run roughshod over environmental laws in Mpumalanga

Opinionista • Annerie Weber • 19 November 2020

The case of the Mpumalanga farmer who woke up one morning to find pirate miners on his land, destroying a wetland, is not an isolated one. And government oversight appears to be missing in action.

On Tuesday 23 July 2019, farmer Stinus Breedt from Hendrina in Mpumalanga found a security fence and temporary offices installed on his farm. He saw an operational open-cast coal mine right in the centre of a wetland bordering the Klein Olifants River.

On protesting to the site manager that he had never been consulted or informed of the granting of a permit, he was told by Eugene Mahlangu, owner of Lunathi Mining, that if he protested the land would be subject to a land grab anyway.

A charge of trespassing was laid at the local police station. The station commander convened a meeting, and Lunathi Mining, after being found not to have the correct documents, was instructed to stop mining until they had them. They stopped for two days and then carried on, without hindrance.

Lunathi Mining claimed to have procured the mining permit from Hlelo Mining, but Hlelo Mining made it clear that they didn’t give permission to use their licence and that in fact, Lunathi was mining illegally on the farm. The “permit” that was provided to Breedt by Mahlangu stated clearly that it was for prospecting only, and only on portion 31. Mahlangu defied this part of the “permit” and mined within a registered wetland on Portion 24. It is important to know that both portions 24 and 31 are registered as agricultural land and can only be used for agriculture.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in Witbank was contacted to ask for an explanation. None was forthcoming. The department refused to hand over the environmental impact assessment and environmental management plan, which are public documents. Three weeks after lodging a Paia application, I eventually obtained them by refusing to leave the DMRE office in Emalahleni until I got them. After six hours of waiting, the DMRE office provided me with the documents. After studying the documents, the EIA was revealed as a cut-and-paste exercise from various other EIAs.

After two applications for urgent matters at the high court in 2019, which were denied, the court date was set for more than a year later in October 2020.

Meanwhile, in December 2020, Hendrina had a nine-day rain and the open-cast mine was flooded. The water of the Klein Olifants River came down in flood and this highly toxic water flowed into the water supply of Middelburg and surrounding areas. This was despite two directives from the Department of Water affairs stating clearly they were not permitted to mine in this wetland.

After a legal battle of more than a year, farmer Stinus Breedt rejoiced when on 12 October 2020 a high court judge gave a final interdict against Lunathi Mining, ordering them to restore his possession of Portions 24 and 31 of his farm. Lunathi Mining was ordered to immediately cease mining or any activity incidental thereto and was ordered to rehabilitate the mining area and the wetland on Portions 24 and 31. Lunathi Mining also had to pay costs to Breedt.

Although the fact that the farmer got his farm back should be celebrated and the illegal miners were instructed to leave, the wetland is destroyed.

The possibility that trespassers can come on to private property, start an illegal open-cast coal mine and destroy the ecosystem for more than one full year is unthinkable, but true. It is unacceptable that the environment that we must protect is destroyed by greed by people who refuse to follow the law. The DA will keep on fighting to protect our environment as it is our heritage.

Sadly, this is not an isolated case. I have received similar reports of hit-and-run mining from other areas of Mpumalanga, which we are investigating.

This was a complete failure by the two government departments with areas of environmental oversight, and it was a gross failure of policing. It prompts the question: what use are all South Africa’s numerous environmental and mine licensing laws if they are simply not enforced? DM

[Lisbeth]

"There is (definitely) something rotten in the state of South Africa"

[Richprins]

And lazy police!

[Lisbeth]

They wouldn't know how to handle such a situation