Thus far,  no formal objections towards Coal of Africa Limited’s (CoAL) Greater Soutpansberg Project have been registered.

This according to the amended environmental management plan (EMP) documents that CoAL submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on 14 August.

These documents were compiled after the public and other affected parties had from 25 June until 24 July to comment on the drafts. As part of their Soutpansberg Project, CoAL will start with a series of exploration drillings on 41 farms in the Limpopo Valley. Before CoAL can start drilling, however, they need a prospecting right from the DMR; hence the submission of the environmental plans. 

The exploration drilling, according to CoAL’s independent consultants, Naledi Development, is necessary “to understand the location, extent and quality of the scare coking coal resource." CoAL expects to be finished with their exploration drilling by the middle of next year. Only then will they be able to give an indication of whether the areas earmarked for mining in the project are feasible from an economic, social and environmental point of view. If they do find them to be feasible, CoAL will move towards the next step and apply for a new order mining right from the DMR. At the same time, a detailed environmental impact assessment will be done.

The EMP documents have raised quite a number of eyebrows, particularly where they mention the availability of water in the region. Water sources which will be affected by the Soutpansberg Project will include the dry Sand and Mutamba River.

According to the EMPs, the Limpopo province has limited surface and ground water resources. Large parts of the Soutpansberg project falls within areas that have been classified vulnerable to less vulnerable in terms of groundwater by the Water Research Commission of South Africa. 

In the meantime, what is not clear is how long the DMR will take to make a decision, based on the amended EMPs.

Interested parties can download all six documents from Naledi’s website at www.naledidev.co.za, under the Projects tab.  Printed copies are also available from the public library, situated on the corner of Erasmus and Kruger Street in Makhado (Louis Trichardt).