[miningmx.com] –COAL of Africa (CoAL) and the Save Mapungubwe Coalition (the coalition) have declared a truce and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) over the Vele mine in Limpopo.
CoAL and the coalition have been at loggerheads over development of the coking coal mine for the past 18 months because of its proximity to the Mapungubwe National Park.
The two sides have set a deadline of January 31 next year by when the MOU should be converted into a memorandum of agreement (MOA).
The Coalition has agreed to “stay legal proceedings and administrative appeals’ it has currently underway against Vele “subject to the signature of the MOA by January 31.’
If and when the MOA is concluded, the Coalition will withdraw all the legal proceedings and administrative appeals it has launched.
Despite the new spirit of co-operation, both CoAL CEO John Wallington and Yolan Friedmann – CEO of the Endangered Wildlife Trust who was acting as spokesperson for the coalition – stressed at a press conference on Thursday they believed they held strong legal positions.
The stakes are high for both sides in terms of the coalition’s integrity and the financial impact on CoAL.
Friedmann ducked a question on whether the signing of this MOA meant the coalition had accepted the Vele mine would come into production and was now focused on minimizing the impact of the operation.
She replied, “It’s too early to say. We are taking advantage of a process that shows we can improve the operation through collaboration. That is our focus for now.’
Until now, the coalition has demanded the permanent closure of the mine because it was opposed to any mining developments in close proximity to Mapungubwe and the proposed Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) extending into Botswana and Zimbabwe.
CoAL has agreed to look at “further research, monitoring and modeling into the potential impacts of mining at Vele’ as well as “amendments and improvements to Limpopo Coal’s approved environmental management plan and water use licence.’
Those are major concessions from a company which has already been awarded all the required environmental permits for the Vele mine to operate in terms of South Africa’s current legislation.
Implication is such additional environmental measures could push up both capital and working costs at the mine.
Asked about this Wallington replied, “One would assume there would be some additional costs although it’s possible we could work smarter and do things differently without just adding unnecessary additional costs.
“But at this stage it’s too soon to quantify these things’.
Wallington added, “we need to get to a different space and I don’t really want to contemplate not succeeding.
“It’s critical that we work together because to just wish the mining industry away is nonsensical given the economic challenges that South Africa faces.
“This is the type of co-operation that will improve future legislation and practice. If we succeed we will get the best of both worlds. We will get mine developments in the right areas and at the right standards of environmental protection.’
The “bigger picture’ out of the hands of both sides in the Vele/Mapungubwe confrontation concerns government policy over which areas of the country should be designated solely for sustainable environmental development.
Discussions regarding the TFCA at Mapungubwe have been going on since the mid-90’s without a definitive agreement being signed.
Wallington has previously called for greater clarity from government to prevent mining companies investing hundreds of millions of rands into exploration and development of projects which may then be blocked.
Resolving this issue will have major implications for the Mapungubwe region where two other mining companies – Anglo American and Universal Coal – are both looking at potential new coal mines.
Both these projects fall within the declared Mapungubwe environmental “buffer zone’ while Vele is actually situated outside that zone.
Previously, other exploration companies – such as Badimo – have looked at exploiting the coal bed methane resources in the Mapungubwe region. Badimo walked away because of the environmental issues but other operators may not be so environmentally responsible.
Friedmann pointed out a list of areas which should be declared off-limits for mining was submitted to the Minister of Mineral Resources in February this year.
She commented, ” we are very aware of the other threats to the region. Mining developments falling within the Mapungubwe buffer zone will be contested heavily.
” We want to get improved procedures around the applications for mining operations and other industrial developments situated further out.
“We hope to do this by setting standards – such as improving the transparency and information sharing – so that the decision making process is improved and we can have a catalytic effect on those that go ahead.’
