‘West Coast breakthrough: environment activists and mining company reach agreement’ 21 June 2022

For the first time, the cumulative impact of a proliferation of mining, prospecting, and oil and gas explorations, both onshore and offshore, along the West Coast may be subjected to close scrutiny by independent environmental experts. This comes after lengthy negotiations that have staved off, at least temporarily, a potentially bruising and expensive court case. Environmental justice advocacy group the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) was set to take on national government departments and mining company Mineral Sands Resources (MSR) over expanded operations on the West Coast. But in terms of an agreement hammered out in talks and made an order of court, the Australian-owned MSR, which operates the Tormin mine near Lutzville, will agree to comprehensive environmental plans to manage its future mining operations, and ask environment minister Barbara Creecy to commission an independent Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the region.

…After lengthy discussions, agreement was reached to suspend legal action if MSR agreed to implement various environmental protection and planning measures. This has been made an order of court. “The primary consideration for us was that even a court victory would not have secured a cessation of mining by MSR in the immediate or near future, nor would it have secured any additional steps to be taken by MSR to prevent further harm to biodiversity as a result of its mining,” CER attorney Zahra Omar explained. There is increasing concern about the cumulative impacts of mining on both biodiversity and livelihoods on the West Coast.

…MSR will be responsible for the cost of developing, securing, maintaining and extending the ecosystem on land under its ownership or control, subject to the approved biodiversity management plan. Omar said the CER was “cautiously optimistic” but the success of the order would “obviously” depend on MSR compliance “which will be closely monitored by CER”. “It’s important to note that CER has not withdrawn its judicial review application. The application is merely stayed in terms of the order. We are entitled to set the matter down should MSR not comply with the provisions of the order,” said Omar.