‘Judge blocks mine expansion’ 5 May 2022

The award of a controversial licence to Tendele Coal Mining to extend the activities of its Somkhele mine in the Mtubatuba district of KwaZulu-Natal has been set aside. Pretoria High Court Acting Judge Noluntu Bam has also nullified the approval by the KwaZulu-Natal regional manager of the Department of Mineral Resources of environmental plans which Tendele submitted to mine a further 222km2 in the north of the province. The judge has ordered that the entire grant of the licence be reconsidered by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. The Minister has been ordered to re-open an appeal lodged by various community organisations which had been dismissed.

…The Minister, and other state respondents, did not oppose the organisations’ application. Judge Bam said it had been initially “fiercely opposed” by Tendele. The company was supported in its opposition by the local Mpukunyoni Traditional Council, a mining forum, and two unions representing the bulk of the workforce. However, during the hearing, Tendele conceded that it could not defend its position on several issues, including that its public participation process was “imperfect”, there were deficiencies in its environmental reports, its specialist studies did not adequately cover the entire proposed mining area and certain environmental impacts had not been assessed at all.

…The company said its mine had one of the largest resources of open-pit anthracite reserves in the country, and failure to meet its supply commitments could have devastating results not only to the company but to South Africa’s economy. Also, the mine was also the only major employer in the area. Judge Bam said: “This is a case that calls for pragmatism. It seems to me that an order referring the matter back to the minister will strike the correct balance of various competing interests.” She directed that the minister reconsider the matter on appeal “in accordance with the findings of this judgment” and directed Tendele to notify interested and affected parties that they are entitled to participate in the appeal process by publishing the contents of this widely.