Nearly four months after a proposed coal mine expansion culminated in the murder of a 65-year old community activist, the fortunes of Petmin’s Tendele coal mine appear to be turning for the better.
After months of “detailed consultation”, Tendele announced it had this week signed a peace accord with stakeholders. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has also dismissed a case brought against the mine by community and environmental activist groups that alleged operations continued without the requisite authorisation and wanted mining activity to cease.
Tendele Mining, 80% owned by JSE-listed miner Petmin, has operated the Somkhele mine in northern KwaZulu-Natal since 2007. The mine’s coal resources are almost depleted. Production from the existing mining area is expected to cease entirely by June 2022.
The proposed expansion of the mine stoked tension in the area, which hit headlines in October 2020 when Fikile Ntshangase, a community activist opposed to the expansion, was gunned down in her home.
Tendele Mining said it and a wide range of stakeholders have signed a peace accord, called the Somkhele Peace Accord. “The accord is the basis for all stakeholders to work together constructively through dialogue and mediation to seek a resolution of the current and future issues and disputes including social and environmental issues, and to reduce or eliminate tensions and to ensure the survival of the Tendele mine,” the company said in a statement.
The dismissal at the SCA brings to an end a years-long dispute over whether Tendele is mining lawfully.
The court appeal was brought by the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation and others against a 2018 judgment of the KwaZulu-Natal high court that found in favour of Tendele, allowing for its continued operation.
The Mpukunyoni Community Mining Forum, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the National Union of Mineworkers and the Mpukunyoni Traditional Council — which were concerned about the economic effect of the mine’s closure in the area — participated in the appeal as “amicus curiae” or friends of the court.
In dismissing the appeal, the SCA found the appellants had failed to plead essential facts demonstrating that Tendele was conducting listed activities that would require an environmental authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act. The court also found that Tendele Mining did not require municipal approval for land use under the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act or a waste management licence under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act because of certain transitional arrangements in these statutes.
There remains a review application brought against the decision of the minister of mineral resources & energy to grant Tendele Mining a mining right to operate and expand the Somkhele mine. “Tendele Mining has opposed the review application but remains hopeful that this matter can be resolved cordially through dialogue as the closure of the mine will have a significant and devastating impact on the surrounding community,” the company said.
The other factor needing resolution before the expansion of the mine can proceed is the finalisation of relocation agreements with families that would need to be resettled to allow for the expanded operations. Agreements have been signed with 133 of the 143 families affected. Tendele said an independent mediation process is under way to try to resolve these matters with the remaining 10 families.
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