Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

The Mpumalanga MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development and Land and Environmental Affairs has refused the appeal by eight civil society and community organisations against the environmental approval granted to Indian-owned Atha-Africa Ventures Pty Ltd to build a coal mine inside a protected area and a strategic water source area near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga.

The coalition challenging the MEC’s approval already has two other High Court cases pending against other approvals for the proposed mine. These are a High Court judicial review of the mining right, and a High Court judicial review of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Environmental Affairs’ decision to approve mining inside a protected environment. It will now also take its fight against the environmental approval to court.

In his refusal of the appeal, the MEC did not take into account the expert evidence submitted by the coalition challenging the mine that the mine will dry up the wetlands in the mine area, or the likelihood of acid mine drainage flowing from this mine.

Despite the coalition pointing out gaps in the information placed before the Mpumalanga provincial environmental department by Atha, and despite their submission of expert evidence to the contrary, the MEC decided that the mitigation measures proposed by Atha are adequate. For example, despite the fact that one of the main mitigation measures Atha proposes is a water treatment plant, there is no reference to it in the environmental management programme for the mine, let alone sufficient information about its design or capacity, or any stipulation as regards when it must be constructed.

Given that the proposed mine is predicted to cause acid mine water for 45 years after its closure, the absence of specific requirements for water treatment is a very serious omission. If the mine starts in 2017, mining will take place until 2032, water levels will rebound in 2077 and water treatment will continue until 2097. Against this background, it is worth noting that Atha has provided a financial guarantee for closure costs of only R5.758 million – inadequate for a coal mine in any environment, but particularly so in a sensitive environment.

Moreover, the MEC said that the mine was in line with South Africa’s invitation to Indian companies to invest in our mining sector, and that the mine would help to “develop export markets for South African products and services”. However, many experts conclude that coal demand has peaked and that any further investment in coal assets now risks stranded assets and also risks other supply viability as over-supply will drive down prices. The peak has happened due to growing concern about the health impacts of air pollution, climate policies, technology competition, reduced energy demand growth owing to energy efficiency and economies shifting from high energy intense industries to modern industries.

The MEC also assumed in his decision that impoverished local communities would benefit from the mine. Unfortunately, what the MEC did not take into account is that Atha’s own reports give no guarantee that jobs would be sourced locally. Instead, it states that “there is unlikely to be significant opportunities for the local population to be employed during the construction phase, and the opportunities are likely to be temporary” and there will be “limited numbers of unskilled, [and] semi-skilled employment opportunities”. The Atha report states that the 60 “skilled” jobs estimated to be created for the mine’s construction will not be sourced locally, and that 10 management staff will come from Atha’s Indian operations. Instead of relying on another coal mine to create a handful jobs in a sector that is on the decline, government should be leading a just transition away from coal, and training workers and unemployed people for jobs that last, and that build the low-carbon economy.

In addition to being a declared protected environment under the Protected Areas Act, the Mabola Protected Environment also falls within a strategic water source area that has been identified as incredibly important and strategic to protect in the interests of all South Africans. The proposed mine area is located in that part of the Enkangala Drakensberg strategic water source area which constitutes the headwaters of the Usutu River System, via the Assegaai River. The Assegaai River flows into the Heyshope Dam, from which water is inserted into the Vaal River System via inter-basin transfer. Accordingly, the mine area is a water source of the Vaal River System, which supports Gauteng’s water needs. The Usutu River flows through Swaziland and, after joining the Pongola River, flows into Mozambique, where it is known as the Maputo River. Accordingly, the health of the Usutu River System is also relevant to South Africa’s international obligations to Swaziland and Mozambique. All of these users will be affected if the sources of those rivers are compromised. Watch drone footage of the area here.

Atha was granted a mining right by the Minister of Mineral Resources in 2015, shortly after the declaration of the Mabola Protected Environment by the Mpumalanga MEC. Since then, Atha has received licences and approvals from the Mpumalanga environment department, the Department of Water & Sanitation, and the Ministers of Environmental Affairs and Mineral Resources. All these approvals have been challenged by the coalition through internal appeals, a High Court judicial review of the mining right, and a High Court judicial review of the Minister of Mineral Resources and Environmental Affairs’ decision to approve mining inside a protected environment. The coalition also successfully brought an interdict application to ensure that mining does not start without the requisite approvals.

The coalition consists of the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, Birdlife South Africa, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Federation for a Sustainable Environment, groundWork, Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) and the Bench Marks Foundation, and is represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights.

Access copies of all the appeals and litigation in this matter here.

ENDS

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