Mining directive not a licence to mine
There is no instruction to mine
A copy of the widely discussed directive that Dino Properties received from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has fallen into the Record’s hands. Nowhere does it state that mining activities should be conducted.
The directive was issued sometime during 2016 by a Grade 1 Environmental Mineral Resource Inspector from the Department of Mineral Resources, Mashudu Maduka.
The Record has not been able to get hold of her to obtain more information. However, the directive was delivered by hand to Dino Properties but it lacks a date stamp. It states that “a site inspection was conducted to determine how the company (Dino Properties) can curb illegal mining by removing the gold ore outcrop on the properties without sterilising the mineral, especially areas where a township development was been approved”.
Maduka then outlined the findings of the site inspection which read as follows:
“There is illegal gold mining taking place on the property by various dangerous individual [sic]; mining is taking place on the outcrop remnants which remained during mining activities that took place years ago and there is environmental degradation that is being caused by activities taking place on your properties.
“The Department has concluded that the illegal gold mining activities taking place on the said properties on its own is in contravention with the applicable legislation as it is causing and/ or exacerbating environmental degradation.”
The directive then quotes the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (Nema) stating that it is “a framework legislation enacted to give effect to individual’s constitutional environmental right to have an environment that is not harmful to their well-being; and their right to have the environment protected for the benefit of the present and the future generations, promote conservation and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development”.
Read more: Legal mining to curb illegal mining
Interestingly enough, the document clearly states that Dino Properties is being given “a directive in terms of Section 28 of Nema which imposes an obligation on you as a company in control of the affected land to take reasonable steps to remedy the situation and submit the following information …”.
There is no instruction to mine.
The information DMR required Dino Properties to submit includes the result of the environmental study detailing measures to be undertaken to remedy the situation and indicating all areas that require to be remedied.
DMR also required a surveyed layout plan indicating the footprints and volumes of all the excavations, outcrops, stockpiles, dumps, access roads and any other disturbed areas as a result [of ] the illegal mining activities as well as a timeframe and cost required to implement these measures. The Department said they reserve the right to augment any of the instructions without prior notification, including, and if necessary, an instruction to rehabilitate the site to its natural state.
David van Wyk from Bench Mark said the directive is by no means a mining licence. “West Wits is already operating illegally because the environmental assessment has not been concluded, and the report has not yet been made available to view. Another interesting factor is the fact that the CEO of Durban Roodepoort Deep Mine (DRD) is also listed as the CEO of West Wits Mining, and a lot of those properties are actually registered to DRD. Is this operation being conducted by DRD, or West Wits? Nobody knows.”
Van Wyk also said the community is confused because they do not know who they should deal with. “Who will be accountable for the high levels of radiation? There are high schools, businesses and residential housing in close proximity to where the uranium will be mined. Are the businesses in the Roodepoort CBD aware of the impact the mining will have on their income? According to the scoping report from West Wits, the hole is more that a kilometre long, there will be ‘shaking’ from the explosions, and uranium dust in the air from the open mine trucks carrying the uranium ore. The vehicles also do not comply with safety measures for carrying uranium ore.”
According to Van Wyk, there are still many big yellow uranium-filled mine dumps throughout Johannesburg. He asked, “Why are these dumps not mined?”
“We have a similar situation in Witbank where a company was given the responsibility of rehabilitating the dumps, but they are now being mined. Mining companies use approval to rehabilitate as a loophole to start mining,” Van Wyk concluded.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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