Shabangu sets date for Mpumalanga moratorium

Brendan Ryan | Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:55

[miningmx.com] -- THE moratorium on applications for new prospecting licences in Mpumalanga province would be extended until September, according to Mines Minister Susan Shabangu .

Addressing a breakfast function held by the South African Mining Development Association (Samda) in Johannesburg on Friday, Shabangu said the moratorium would be lifted in all other provinces by the end of March.

Shabangu previously indicated at the Mining Indaba on February 8 that the moratorium in Mpumalanga would be extended by “two or three months”.

She said the decision to extend the moratorium in Mpumalanga to September was because of the challenges that remained to be dealt with in the province.

She added the investigations carried out by the department of mineral resources (DMR) so far had highlighted a number of problems.

These included the double granting of licences, the granting of licences without receiving the necessary environmental impact assessments or social and labour plans and the handling of applications over environmentally sensitive areas.

She said instances had even been uncovered where a company held a mining licence but there was no paper trail in the DMR to back up the granting of that licence.

“When we reopen in Mpumalanga, we must have a situation where mining will be done responsibly. There are a lot of areas in Mpumalanga that must be taken care of environmentally.”

Mpumalanga is the province which hosts South Africa’s major coal fields, and many small operators have opened new coal mines there in response to power utility Eskom’s demand for extra coal supplies.

Asked if the investigation work at the DMR had reached any conclusions on how a mining licence could be issued without a supporting paper trail, Shabangu replied: "Maybe there were too many rats in the department.

“Maybe we did not put down enough Rattex and there were too many rats and they ate the paperwork.

“We have done investigations, but to date we do not know what happened. Quite clearly, it’s the issue of negligence in the department. “

In an interview with the Associated Press at the Mining Indaba, Shabangu said licences for mining companies had been revoked and civil servants suspended from their jobs after irregularities were found in the issuance of authorisations for companies to search for minerals.

Shabangu told the Samda function the investigations so far had shown that about 500 companies had been mining illegally, most of which were black economic empowerment (BEE) operators.

“We are going to shut them down and that pains me because it means we are going backwards - but BEE ventures must understand the requirements.

“I appeal to Samda members who are mining and are not compliant with the regulations to come forward. If they don’t , they will be closed down.”

At the beginning of February the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) – on behalf of 13 non-governmental and civil society organisations - submitted a request to Shabangu to put a ban on prospecting and mining in “certain key areas of critical biodiversity”.

Two such regions where environmental organisations are fighting battles against mining companies are the area around the Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo, and the Chrissiemeer wetland area in Mpumalanga.

Asked what her reaction was to the CER request, Shabangu replied: "We will be guided in this matter by the department of environmental affairs (DEA). The DEA will decide which areas are sensitive and it is then for us to implement.”