Mabola’s underground activity is above board

It is not true that there is diminishing transparency around the granting of mining licences, writes Edna Molewa

IT has become necessary to correct misinformation in the public space around the granting of an environmental authorisation to Atha-Africa Ventures to conduct coal mining operations in the Mabola region of Mpumalanga.

The environmental authorisation was issued in terms of section 48 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act.

A number of allegations have been made by NGOs that the decision of the ministers of environmental affairs and mineral resources was irregular, that due regard was not given to the environmental impact of the mining activity, that the decision was taken in secret, and that the public were not consulted.

The government is ever mindful of the need to ensure that any development undertaken takes environmental considerations into account, and as such we have a comprehensive set of laws and policy instruments to ensure that all this country’s natural resources, including mineral resources, are managed in a sustainable manner.

No permission for mining-related activity may be granted until the applicant has received authorisations from the relevant organs of state that have jurisdiction in respect of the activity — including a wateruse licence, mining rights and an approved environmental management plan, as well as an environmental authorisation.

Atha-Africa Ventures received all of these permissions.

The Mabola region is both a critical water catchment area and a biodiversity priority area. Thus, mining and its associated activities in this area are also strictly regulated in terms of our mining and biodiversity guideline.

This guideline, formulated by the departments of environmental affairs and mineral resources, the Chamber of Mines, the South African Mining and Biodiversity Forum and the South African National Biodiversity Institute, identifies four categories of biodiversity priority areas in terms of their importance, and the risk and implications for mining therein.

Legally protected areas include nature reserves, national parks and special nature reserves where mining is prohibited.

Another category is a protected environment, such as the Mabola region. This is the only category where mining may be allowed, with written permission from the two aforementioned ministers and under strict conditions.

This is not the first time mining has taken place in this area. Until 2011 the prospecting rights for Mabola were held by BHP Billiton. The area has been subject to numerous mining and prospecting interests, as several licences have been issued in the past.

The departments of environmental affairs and mineral resources have laid out strict conditions that the licence holder must meet.

From an environmental perspective, these are, among others, that an environmental management plan must be in place, that a plant-rescue and protection plan (with specific focus on conservation-important species) must be submitted to the department, that activities that may encroach on a water resource are not allowed without authorisation from the Department of Water and Sanitation, that stringent and appropriate dust-suppression measures and measures to mitigate and manage acid mine drainage must be applied, and that the licence holder must establish an environmental management committee.

Atha-Africa Ventures must also submit quarterly compliance reports to the department on the status of conditions of the permit as well as on progress in meeting the targets of the draft Mabola environmental management plan.

All of this has been taken into consideration, so it is incorrect to say that the applicant has been granted permission to mine “with minimal caveats”.

The department is satisfied that, subject to compliance with the permit conditions issued to Atha-Africa Ventures, our decision will not conflict with the protected areas act, and that any potentially detrimental environmental impacts can be mitigated to acceptable levels.

Concerns have also been raised about the public participation process.

The mining right water-use licence application and the environmental authorisation all have inherent public participation processes spelt out in terms of their respective legislative provisions.

However, section 48 of the protected areas act is not explicit about the requirement of a public participation process, except for the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, which was fully complied with as required in the two processes mentioned above.

The legislation also does not make provision for an internal appeal process to the ministers’ decision, but any aggrieved party may approach a relevant court to review the permission.

It is not true, therefore, that there has been diminishing transparency around decisions on the granting of mining licences.

The mining sector continues to play a key role in the economies of Africa, and it has come a long way in pursuing actions that seek to avoid, minimise and mitigate the harmful impacts of mining on sensitive ecosystems.

The principle of sustainable development guides our actions as a country as we seek to balance the need for environmental conservation with justifiable economic development.

Molewa is minister of environmental affairs

Any aggrieved party may approach a court to review the permission