Mining poses threat to iMfolozi wilderness zone

One of the world’s oldest game reserves and a cradle of African rhino conservation is under threat by a coal-mining venture that could wreck one of Africa’s most iconic wilderness areas. Tendele Coal Mining, a subsidiary of the JSE-listed Petmin group, has signalled a desire to start mining on the borderline of the iMfolozi wilderness zone. The iMfolozi Game Reserve was proclaimed in 1875 — just three years after the Yellowstone National Park in the US — to protect the world’s last remnant population of the southern white rhino. The rhinos had been hunted to the point of extinction, but a tiny pocket of 50–100 were discovered in what was to become known later as the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. Due to the dedication of game rangers such as the late Dr Ian Player, the park’s rhino population multiplied and spread to game reserves across SA, the rest of Africa and to zoos across Europe and the US. Now Tendele Coal Mining has indicated an interest in mining anthracite on the boundary of the...