Two months after withdrawing its previous bid to mine along the southern boundary of the Kruger National Park (KNP), the company responsible has submitted a new application.

The latest application was brought forward by Tenbosch Mining (Pty) Ltd earlier this month and is, according to the Marloth Park Property Owners’ Association (MPPOA), the ninth application of its kind since 2014. The public participation process was opened on February 18.

“The MPPOA has been engaging with and contesting mining and prospecting applications in this region since 2014. Over the past decade, several applications have been submitted over the same farms, often involving the same underlying stakeholders, although represented at different times by various environmental assessment practitioners,” said Denis Goffinet, a past chairperson of MPPOA and current board member serving in a support capacity.

Previous applications have been withdrawn, refused, overturned, or challenged due to environmental and procedural concerns. Despite this lengthy history, renewed applications continue to be lodged. The new application is for an underground coal mine that will operate using the bord and pillar mining method with a lifespan of 30 years.

The approximate area of the proposed project varies significantly across documentation, with 5 537ha, 6 521ha and 7 702ha all being listed as project sizes in the application’s draft scoping report and background information document.

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This is a large portion of land, situated just 12km west of Komatipoort and 15km south of Marloth Park. It is also right on the southern boundary of the KNP and near the Crocodile River system. Underground coal mining at this scale could carry long-term implications for surface and groundwater systems, biodiversity, air quality, road infrastructure, community wellbeing, and tourism.

Private reserves and tourism-centric business offerings, such as Ngwenya Lodge, are situated within the proposed mining area. “While the project remains at an early stage of the environmental impact assessment process, Ngwenya has serious concerns regarding the eco-sensitive nature of the area near the Kruger National Park, the potential impact on established agricultural land use and tourism, and the implications for regional water resources among other issues,” said Attorney Jacques du Randt, legal representative for Ngwenya Lodge.

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Cindy Benson of the Marloth Park Ratepayers Association has been involved in fighting previous applications and is determined to keep doing so. “We very firmly oppose this new application. They’re not following the bar whatsoever and it affects a variety of protected areas. We all are so tired of fighting this fight, but we will keep on. One important thing the public needs to know is that the owners have not given their permission for this mining operation to take place on their property.”

An extensive list of infrastructure will be required for the project. This includes a crushing and screening plant; tailings storage facility; surface substations; main access road from the N4 to the mine site; a pollution control dam; power supply infrastructure including a switching yard and power lines; sewage treatment package plant; water treatment plant; and fuel storage among others.

Jan Engelbrecht of the Komatipoort Business Chamber also expressed his opposition to the project application. “There are so many resources here in Nkomazi. You can probably grab a spade and dig up some coal by hand. But, this is the agricultural pantry of South Africa, so we do not want mining here, we want agriculture. You can have your mine, just not here.” Roy Plath, co-founder and owner of Umbhaba Estates, has been a farmer in the Lowveld for nearly 50 years and echoed Engelbrecht’s sentiment. “We will fight this tooth and nail; the farmers will not allow it to happen.

“We don’t need mining in an area that offers such sublime tropical growing conditions,” he said. “This is top class agricultural ground and we don’t need this pollution. It just cannot be.”

AfriForum has also been involved in fighting previous mining applications in the region. Lambert de Klerk, environmental affairs manager at AfriForum, confirmed that they will again be involved in objecting against this new bid.

The appointed environmental assessment practitioner for the application is Kimopax (Pty) Ltd. “We want to encourage the public to participate and engage in the process, using the correct channels and methods of communication. We’d like all parties to register and prefer that questions are submitted in writing as this is the best way for us to compile question-and-answer sheets. We really just want to see a transparent process,” the company said when contacted for comment.

For questions regarding the project and to engage in the public participation process, concerned individuals can make use of the dedicated Kimopax phone number for the project (083 295 5763) and the dedicated email address (tenbosch@kimopax.com). Members of the public have until March 20 to provide comment.