Proposed Vaal River coal mine pits clean water against power supply

WE moan when the lights go out — but get equally enraged when the taps run dry.

Now a proposed new coal mine on the banks of the Vaal River has highlighted the pressure of stable electricity supply against that of clean water.

Rand Water and various experts argue that clean drinking water is more important than keeping the lights on.

The state water utility is among several objectors to the new mine, whose owners had hoped to begin supplying Eskom as early as January.

Liketh Investments’s mining licence application is pending.

The site, about 10km outside Vereeniging, is on a farm bordering one of two Rand Water purification plants.

Rand Water, responsible for about 75% of Gauteng’s water, fears the new mining operation will damage its main supply pipeline and canal to its purification plants — which could lead to “catastrophic” system failure, it said.

A group of concerned citizens, the Vaal Water Action Coalition, has also vowed to stop the colliery.

Coalition spokesman Matthew White said it was objecting because “pollution of the Vaal River on a massive scale would seemingly be unavoidable, posing a threat to the drinking water”.

The prospecting rights have been acquired by Liketh Investments through its subsidiary Richtrau 253, which intends to mine coal through an underground and open-cast mine for 28 years.

In its final scoping report last month, the company highlighted its side of the story: “Eskom currently relies on coal-fired power stations to produce approximately 94% of the electricity generated in South Africa.”

As part of its motivation for approval it said that until such time as alternative energy generation options could be implemented on a sufficiently large scale, Eskom was totally dependent on coal mining.

Liketh Investments director Pius Mokgokong declined to comment and his office directed questions to TTH Invasion, the company hired to draft the scoping report. TTH failed to respond to questions.

The scoping report acknowledged that the effect of mining on the river was expected to be “high to moderate”.

North West University water expert Johan Tempelhoff said drinking water was more important than power generation.

“The Vaal River needs to be protected for as long as we are able to do so,” Tempelhoff said.

However, residents of the Bantu Bonke community — who live on the farm — support the proposed mine.

Zwelinjani Tshawe, the secretary-general of the communal property association, said the association was hopeful the mining company would create jobs for locals as it had promised.

“The community is waiting for the establishment of the mine … we want something sustainable,” Tshawe said.