[miningmx.com] – ALREADY beset by renewed strike action at its Mpumalanga province mine, Mooiplaats, Coal of Africa (CoAL) headed into further problems confirming a coalition of environmentalists opposed to its mining at the Vele Colliery in Limpopo province had withdrawn from an agreement.
The agreement – a memorandum of understanding (MoU) – was penned in November 2011 to avoid litigation that had been planned by the environmentalists, known as the ‘Save the Mapungubwe Coalition’ (the Coalition).
The coalition was especially opposed to the issue of a water use licence to CoAL owing to the scarcity of resources in the region.
The MoU was intended to become a memorandum of association and allow for the Coalition to monitor mining activities at the mine.
However, in an announcement to the JSE this morning, John Wallington, CEO of CoAL, said the Coalition had never visited the mine despite several invitations to do so.
In a statement on December 7, the Coalition said there was additional information of on-going non-compliance with water legislation at Vele Colliery.
Said Wallington: “The company is of the firm view that the basis on which the Coalition is withdrawing and its allegations are inaccurate, which CoAL has addressed on numerous occasions with the Coalition.
“In addition, the Coalition has to date not been to the Vele mine site in spite of the numerous invitations from the company for it to visit in order to observe and appreciate the systems introduced to manage the environment”.
Wallington said his company would continue to engage with the Coalition through a committee established in terms of Vele’s environmental authorisation, known as the Environmental Management Committee.
