South African mining boom faces court challenge

KODE PPC ANDA

A court case opening Tuesday is expected to expose the conflict within the South African government as it battles to balance the demands of mining expansion and environmental protection.

Billions of dollars are at stake as the government awards huge mining licences while it is accused by communities and environment groups of putting several several animal species and eco-systems are under threat.

Mpumalanga Lake District Protection Group (MLDPG) has launched a landmark bid to stop a proposed opencast coal mine in the Lake District in Mpumalanga in the east of the country. The application is to heard in the Pretoria high court from Tuesday.

"The social and environmental impact costs coming with mining will be high and will only be evident when the mining is over," said MLDPG chairman Koos Pretorius.

"We are concerned that no strategic environmental impact assessment has been conducted and are convinced that coal mining is not the best long-term use option for the area," he told AFP.

The court case is expected to highlight conflicts between the departments of Minerals and Energy (DME) and Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT).

DEAT spokesman Blessing Manale said existing legislation left the department's "hands tied" and gave its counterpart free reign "to own mining rights and regulate its own environmental impact".

"We have a situation in the country where once the prospecting licence has been granted, the mining department is allowed to handle its own environmental impact assessment without our involvement," said Manale.

Environmentalists and community members accuse authorities of irregularities in awarding licenses and of not taking environmental obligations seriously.

Pretorius, a farmer, said licence applications were pending for mining or prospecting on about 80 percent of land in the Mpumalanga escarpment area, raising fears no agriculture or tourism would soon be left.

The area has coal reserves locked in close proximity to farms and ecologically sensitive areas like the Lake District, which has more than 300 lakes.

The area is rich in swamps and caves housing unique bird and frog species that draw many tourists.

According to geoscientist Terence McCarthy of the University of the Witwatersrand, many of the environmental and social costs of mining, a key job creator, were not considered.

"Mining invariably impacts negatively on the environment. One needs to weigh up the relative benefits of mining or using the land for other purposes," he told AFP.

Many mine areas became permanently "sterilised" and the groundwater contaminated, he said. "If mining were allowed (in such areas), it would mean the end of the pans and lakes. They would in time simply become pools of toxic waste."

Residents say mining expansion has put a halt to eco-tourism and farming investments.

Belgian-born farmer Pierre du Hain, who came to Mpumalanga five years ago, said he was disappointed at the government granting mining rights and would not have based his operation in South Africa if he had known earlier.

"This is bad for the economy and I wouldn't encourage anyone to come and farm in South Africa if situations like these are encouraged to go on."

In another example of the growing conflict, environmentalists have urged the government to reject an application by an Australian company for a titanium mine in Pondoland district on the tourist drawcard Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape province.

"The process of decision-making with respect to mining developments potentially contravenes South Africa's commitments under the Convention of Biological Diversity," said Sustaining the Wild Coast spokesman Val Payn.

"Mining would likely result in irreversible loss of significant biodiversity, including numerous endemic species, and natural and cultural heritage."

KODE PPC ANDA