Parties to raise concerns about mining application
An urgent letter was circulated this week to shareholders and guests of Ngwenya Lodge, as well as property owners in Marloth Park concerning the mining of iron.
KOMATIPOORT – An urgent letter was circulated this week to shareholders and guests of Ngwenya Lodge, as well as property owners in Marloth Park concerning the mining of iron.
Ngwenya Lodge, Marloth Park and Kruger National Park are world renowned for their beautiful setting and tranquil environment, but this could change.
A prospecting application for mining of iron ore has been lodged and belatedly forwarded to the resort by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in respect of the farms Tenbosch 162 JU, Marlothi 521 JU, Barry 572 JU and Symington 167.
As Ngwenya Lodge is situated on the farm Tenbosch 162 JU, it will therefore be affected by the application for an iron-ore prospecting permit.
In terms of section 16 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, No 28 of 2002 (“Act”) an applicant must first apply for a prospecting permit to the DMR, and in so doing comply with certain obligations, and then if the application meets the requirements as set out in the Act, the DMR must grant the applicant an acceptance of the proposed application.
The DMR has provided the applicants with an acceptance letter for the proposed prospecting for Iron ore.
In terms of this letter, the applicant has to comply with certain obligations, including a public participation and consultation process with the landowner or lawful occupier and any other interested and affected parties and then submit the results of the consultation process to the DMR on or before the 30th of April 2014, which would then determine the success or failure of the application to the DMR.
Ngwenya Lodge only received notice of the application on June 11, well past the date on which the applicant was supposed to submit the results of the consultation process.
Even more disturbing is the fact that the applicant has confirmed that it had submitted the results of the consultation process, when no such consultation has taken place with any of the Ngwenya Lodge entities.
It further means that the applicant has submitted the results of the consultation process without the participation of any of the Ngwenya Lodge Share Block Companies, their shareholders and guests.
In short, these parties although heavily impacted by the application, were not even afforded the opportunity to participate in any manner in the public participation and consultation process, which after all is a basic requirement of the Act and the acceptance letter.
Affected parties were asked to stand together on this issue, “as we have only this one belated chance of being heard, seeing we were denied the previous hearing.
We therefore URGENTLY request that you as shareholder, member or guest, to register as an interested and affected party to raise your various concerns which may among others, include the following:
• The devastating impact on the unspoilt scenic beauty, tranquillity, eco-sensitivity, unique fauna and flora and geological formations in the area
• Prospecting being an invasive activity that will negate the very reason for the existence of the resort which is enclosed as part of the Kruger National Park
• The potential impact – the prospecting will have a detrimental impact on the wildlife, air quality, soil, river, dams, surface and ground water, land use and planning, waste management, economy, quality of life, security, noise levels, employment and property values; and any other aspects which you personally may consider pertinent to opposing the application.
• We further request that you ensure that the applicant’s consultants provide you with confirmation that you have been registered as an interested and affected party, and once you have that, please forward a copy to us for record purposes.”
Mr JW Meyer requested this in an email to all shareholders, members and guests of Ngwenya Lodge.
The details of the applicant’s consultant are as follows:
Mr Mpho Mothetha
Tel: 015-29-3471
Cell: 073-256-7309
mmothetha@geoscience.org.za
People were requested by both Ngwenya Lodge, as well as Marloth Property Owner’s Associationto to copy them in on any emails sent or received from the consultants by sending same to ngwenya.iap@oaks.co.za or MMPOA.marlothpark@gmail.com in order for them to monitor their concerns and the process in general.
As speed was of the essence, affected parties were asked to register as an affected party as soon as possible and to pass the email on to any of their fellow members or guests who could support this opposition to the granting of iron ore prospecting rights on Ngwenya or Marloth Park property.
