Thank You to The Environmental Laws In South Africa!

It is with a huge sigh of relief that landowners, businesses, interested and affected parties in the Overberg, Napier region, received the news that a prospecting right application for minerals such as gold, silver and tin ore was refused.

The Overberg is a beautiful scenic place in South Africa. Agriculture, Tourism and Environmental sustainability are the landscape. It is the breadbasket of the Western Cape. The most southern tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas, attracts tourists across the world. Great care is taken by environmentalists to protect the critical endangered Renosterveld between the farming landscape, as well as various endangered freshwater fish species, the healthy groundwater that is essential for the Nuwejaars Wetlands and the inland rivers such as the Kars River, connected to the wetlands.

Why would anybody want to commence mining activities in an area that can have potential detrimental impacts to the environment?

During the last few years, a company, Cienth Pty Ltd, (Cienth) made various applications to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) for prospecting rights to mine silver, gold and tin ore. The application covered areas on various farms and areas situated in and around the Overberg, Napier, District of Bredasdorp, Western Cape Province.

The most recent application was refused by the DMRE - October 2024. Cienth failed to obtain Environmental Authorization in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) as amended.

The DMRE was not satisfied with the way Cienth, and its environmental practitioner conducted the basic assessment report (BAR) and environmental management program. The level of compliance with NEMA and the Regulations of the Environmental Impact Assessment was not what is required by law, the various environmental acts and regulations.

The Key factors considered by the DMRE in refusing the application was the following:

1. The Basic assessment report did not meet the requirements of the Environmental Impact Regulations.

2. The Public Participation Process did not meet the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. Cienth failed to consult with all the potential Interested and Affected Parties. Most of the interested and affected parties objected to the environmental assessment application for the prospecting activities and their comments were not addressed. No compliance with the Public Participation Process.

3. The final BAR did not include any comment from other state departments administering the laws relating to the environment.

4. The DMRE, as the competent authority, did not have an opportunity to submit comments because the draft BAR was not submitted to the DMRE.

5. Every organ of state and State department that administers a law relating to a matter affecting the environment must be afforded the opportunity to comment on any application and environmental assessment report. This did not happen.

6. The requirements of the Heritage Authority were not met. No notice of intent to develop was submitted to Heritage Western Cape for comment. There was no compliance with the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999.

It is clear that this application to prospect for minerals was not properly researched nor professionally prepared as it failed to even comply with the basic requirements of the environmental laws.

However, this application did mobilize the interested and affected parties, the community and civil society to take note of their rights, to educate themselves and to stand up for the preservation of the environment, tourism and agriculture.

Thank you to the Competent Authorities in our country for the just and fair implementation of the environmental laws in South Africa.

Written by: Sophia de Klerk
Moderated and approved by: Glenda Nell

Sources:

DMRE – Refusal of Environmental Authorization – attached.
https://savetheoverberg.com

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