The latest version of a study to investigate the environmental impact of a proposed coal mine on the Kruger National Park’s doorstep is a disastrous failure that, according to the civil rights organisation AfriForum, fails the prerequisites for environmental impact assessments (EIA) in all respects. AfriForum is an interested and affected party (IAP) in this application, and its expert report insists that the application should be withdrawn in its entirety and that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) not consider any further applications for mining rights outside the existing mining region in Mpumalanga.

AfriForum’s feedback on the 2024 version of the EIA was sent to the contracted environmental assessment practitioner, Kimopax, on 31 October, after notice of its revision was only received on 9 October. However, the period for review had already started a month earlier, on 9 September. All feedback had to be submitted by 8 November. The study was undertaken on behalf of the mining company Tenbosch Mining.

The mining company Manzolwandle Investments originally submitted an application to set up a coal mine on an area of ​​18 000 ha on the southern border of the Kruger National Park in 2018. The application was, however, withdrawn in October 2022, but has since been submitted again – this time by Tenbosch Mining and for a much smaller area of 6 500 ha. AfriForum has opposed the proposed development, which has already been characterised in the media as a “controversial plan” by an “obscure mining company”, from the outset, and has also previously commented on the 2023 version of the EIA.

Lambert de Klerk, the Head of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum, views the 2024 EIA as an example of regulatory negligence. “The approval of a coal mining application on the doorstep of the Kruger National Park – a vast area known as the flagship of environmental conservation in South Africa, Africa, and the world – will have far-reaching consequences for this ecosystem. Yet this EIA overlooks simple yet critical facts in this regard. The study cites incorrect legislation; contains lightweight desktop research; falls short of specialist studies; and does not comply with the prescribed protocols of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). In addition, the study clearly shows that the compilers did not approach the study objectively and seem to regard private interests as more important than the long-term sustainability of the environment,” emphasises De Klerk.

AfriForum’s expert report also criticises the Kimopax EIA for its lack of procedural transparency; failure to include or take into account information about the previous mining applications, previous departmental decisions, or the Minister’s directives on mining restrictions in sensitive areas.

“With this EIA, Tenbosch Mining insults environmental management, public trust, public participation, and processes as prescribed in the relevant legislation. If allowed to continue, it will set a dangerous precedent, undermining all efforts to protect our national natural heritage and environmentally vulnerable areas. The DMR must now show that this department is serious about the preservation of our environment and scrap this flawed application in its entirety. South Africans must not stand idly by while irresponsible companies exploit our country for profit,” De Klerk concluded.

AfriForum encourages all South Africans to join the call for accountability by contacting the DMR to demand transparency, environmental integrity, and protection of our most precious national assets.