Corobrik mining plan meets fierce opposition
Activists against coal mining next to Rietvlei reserve and dam delivered a memorandum signed by more than 52 000 activists to stop the brickmaking giant from forging ahead with an application for an extension to their mining licence.
Greenpeace and other stakeholders delivered a memorandum and petition to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy on Wednesday, July 31 to appeal Corobrik’s mining application to mine coal at a site next to Rietvlei dam and reserve.
The environmental organisation was supported by members of Earthlife Africa and the petition garnered a total of 51 982 signatures.
Spokesperson for Greenpeace Cynthia Moyo and her committee members delivered the memorandum on the steps of the department’s headquarters to Modilati Malapane, the chief director of northern regions.
Moyo said they are specifically concerned about the conservation area which has since 1923 been home to rhino, buffalo, cheetah and birdlife and the dam area which provides 15% of Pretoria’s water.
The brick-making giant Corobrik has had an environmental plan approved by the department to extend their mining licence to include coal.
The company operates an open-cast clay brick production facility adjacent to the ecologically sensitive reserve and dam.
If the Corobrik site passes an inspection of the department of the mitigating concerns that need to be adhered to as per the plan and as proposed by Crobrik to the department, the company will get the go-ahead to apply for an extension to their mining licence.
These requirements as per the environmental plan are being implemented at present.
It includes rehabilitation measures such as dust-covering, water and road protection, and removal and disposal of soil contaminated by the mining at a licensed waste disposal facility. It also includes the rehabilitation of the site of such soil removal as well as obtaining a water licence.
The brickmaker mines three different types of clay at Rietvlei. Upon discovery of a small narrow coal seam, it applied to the department as early as 2022 to obtain a licence to mine the coal to remove it and secure ongoing access to the clay reserves present.
Several adjustments had to be made to the first proposed plan and a public participation process had to be followed in 2023 before the final plan could be submitted to the department at the end of last year.
Corobrik got the approval to go ahead with implementing the environmental plan on February 6 of this year.
“This is a pressing issue that not only threatens our environment but our health, our livelihoods and also our future generations,” she pointed out.
She called the department’s decision to allow Corobrik to go ahead “just absurd”.
“The possible approval of this coal mine and the environmental plan by this particular department is not just another bureaucratic step. It threatens our climate and the very air that we breathe,” explained Moyo.
Greenpeace activists put 52 building blocks in front of the gate of the entrance to the department’s offices, a block for every 1 000 voices aired by signing the petition.
Moyo pointed out that these signatures are those of individuals countrywide who considered the implications of the extraction of coal.
“It is not only about the immediate environment that they are worried about but also what the added emissions will do to climate change concerns. Coal mining contributes significantly to global warming. As a nation we’re already experiencing extreme weather events like rising sea levels,” she emphasised.
She was widely applauded by the activists when she said the organisation cannot allow the profit concerns of corporations to ruin the environment.
“We are not powerless as a community. We are united by a commitment to protect our future. Our strength lies in our collective voice and our determination to hold decision-makers accountable.”
Moyo concluded that the organisation demanded a reconsideration of “this harmful project”.
Malapane of the department said she “appreciates the organisation engaging with us”.
She explained the memorandum is considered an appeal that has been lodged and that the department wants to reassure the activists that they have been heard.
“We will get back to you within seven working days with an answer,” said Malapane.
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