Rights groups and Indian company on collision course over Mpumalanga mine
Atha Africa Ventures receives permission to extract coal amid concern about water security in the protected area
Renewed conflict is brewing between coal-mining interests and environmental groups working in the Enkangala Drakensberg, a strategic water source area near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga. Eight civil rights groups are squaring up to Indian mining company Atha Africa Ventures, which is planning to establish a R400m underground coal mine in the Mabola Protected Environment after receiving all the necessary permissions. “There is no reason for the project not to go ahead. We await the rezoning approval without which we cannot legally mine. The outcome of the approval is not in our hands so we cannot give a date. If it is approved we will commence construction of the mine within a short period,” the company’s MD, Praveer Tripathi, said on Wednesday. But attorney Catherine Horsfield at the Centre for Environmental Rights disagreed. "It won’t happen if we have anything to do about it." The centre represents eight civil rights organisations, which all say that the proposed mine at Yzermyn in t...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.