People from the areas surrounding the proposed coal mine development near the Mapungubwe Heritage Site have nothing to fear from this development. This was the message from the director of Coal of Africa Limited, the developer of the mine, at a meeting with members of the local chamber of commerce in Louis Trichardt.

The meeting formed part of a business breakfast in Louis Trichardt on Tuesday morning. At the meeting, the director of Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL), Prof Alfred Nevhutanda, passed on information about the proposed development and answered some questions posed by concerned members of the Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce.

Most of the questions touched on the impact of the mining operations on the immediate environment adjacent to the proposed mine, of which Mapungubwe forms a vital part as tourist attraction and cultural heritage site. Examples of the impact of coal mining can be seen in other towns, such as Witbank, Secunda and Ermelo, where the dust from such mining has a pervasive influence on the people living there and their environment. The dust comes from the loading and transportation of the coal by truck. Apart from the health hazards, coal mining defaces the ecol-ogy of a region, leaving unsightly areas that are difficult to rehabilitate. It also consumes a lot of water, which can have serious implications for the water supply of a region.

Prof Nevhutanda indicated that, contrary to the practice at other coal mining operations, trucks will be used only as a short-term mode of transportation. This will be in the initial stages, while a conveyor belt is being constructed to carry the coal from the point of origin to the station at Musina, from where it will be transported by rail to Vanderbijlpark and from there to Richards Bay. This conveyor belt will be nearly 60 km long.

Nevhutanda also allayed fears that a lot of water will be consumed in the mining process. He indicated that the water used will amount to the same quantity used by farmers in the region for agricultural purposes. Apart from this, a lot of the water will also be recycled, which will also relieve the strain on the water supply. He said that the water supply to farms in the region would not be compromised at all.

Mr André Naudé, chairman of the Chairman’s Association, pointed out that it often happens that a lot of money is generated in a region, which then leaves that region without the residents’ having benefitted from the operation. This is a major concern for businesspeople of this region. He also pointed out that companies such as CoAL often promise major job-creation opportunities but then end up using outside labour and experts, with nowhere near as many jobs being created as promised. To this, Nevhutanda responded by saying that it would be a sad day if that happened. He also admitted that outside experts would be needed for some of the operations but indicated that they hoped to make use of local labour during the construction and operational phases. He could not, however, confirm how much the region would benefit from the operation.