
IKWEZI MINE FAILED TO COMPLY
Siphamandla Khambule
Siphamandla Khambule
Kaalvakte Farm
Dannhauser Local Municipality
KwaZulu Natal
13 May 2023
IKWEZI MINE FAILED TO COMPLY
A coal mining company called Ikwezi coal company began operations in a village called Kliprand near Kaalvakte farm in Dannhauser municipality, which is a deep rural area in Northern Natal. The community received the news of the mining company in different ways, and there was no formal consultation that has been done for the coal mine when they were different on other things. Most of the citizens, including the non-governmental organization Sukumani Environmental Justice, oppose coal mining as its operation has a negative impact on the environment and society. In addition to all their concerns, the mining company was granted all its permits and began its mining operations.
As the operation of the Ikwezi mine continued, the community began to experience some changes in their lives. Trucks from the Ikwezi mine transporting coal created dust that pollutes their houses and makes it difficult for them to breathe.
The Ikwezi coal mining company is not complying with the conditions of its environmental impact assessment and approval and it seems that it has been operating more than the government (DMRE) previously allowed. Sukumani Environmental Justice made efforts to negotiate with the miners in Ikwezi asking them to comply with the Environmental Assessments (EA) and stop polluting the air and polluting the public land, but in their response they noted that they reduce air pollution by covering their trucks and watering them from above while loading coal.
What worries Sukumani Environmental Justice is that the failure of the mining company to prepare the land has caused landslides that have destroyed public pastures and agricultural fields.