Uthaka Energy is back in court seeking to mine coal in the heart of the Mabola Protected Environment near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga.
This 8,772-hectare protected area was formally proclaimed in January 2014 because of its ecological sensitivity as a high-yielding, strategic water catchment area within a threatened grassland ecosystem. If this decision stands, the deproclamation will help the mining company clear one of the biggest hurdles in its path to start mining.Under the Protected Areas Act, no commercial mining is permitted in proclaimed protected areas without the joint approval of the national environment minister and the national mining minister.
The Mpumalanga provincial government was drawn into the fray by MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs Vusi Shongwe, who flip-flopped several times before in January 2021, finallyThis effectively nullified the requirement for joint national ministerial permission for any mining there, and Uthaka soon gave notice of its intention to start construction of Yzermyn, a requirement stipulated in an earlier court ruling.
The coalition called the MEC's decision"inexplicable" and stated:"The mine is set to cause irreversible damage to the sensitive and critically important aquatic environment."