Question NW1179 to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
21 May 2021 - NW1179
Lorimer, Mr JR to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
1) Whether he has found that a certain mining company (name furnished), which conducted mining activities south of the TC Esterhuysen Primary School, in Riverlea, Johannesburg, contravened mining regulations during its tenure; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what specific actions did his department take in this regard, (b) on what date was action taken and (c) what is the status of the mining licence granted for the specified area; 2) Whether his department is involved in the rehabilitation of the site; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; 3) Were contractors appointed to rehabilitate the site; if not, who will rehabilitate the site; if so, what are the relevant details; 4) (a) on what date will the rehabilitation operations on the site (i) commence and (ii) be completed and (b) what is the (i) source of rehabilitation funds and (ii) projected total cost of the rehabilitation process? NW1369E
Reply:
1. A company by the name of Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd had a mining right, dealt with under reference GP 30/5/1/2/2 (140) MR, issued in terms of the provisions of the MPRDA on 11 November 2008. The mining license expired/ lapsed in 2017. Prior to the lapsing of the validity of the mining license, Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd applied for a renewal of their licence, in terms of the provisions of the MPRDA. The Department refused to renew the mining licence. Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd then lodged an appeal against the Department’s decision to refuse to renew their licence.
a) Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd went into liquidation during the appeal process by the Department. The final decision on the appeal has not been finalised since the appellant went into liquidation and/ or business abandonment.
b) The Department issued several orders, instruction and notices in terms of the provisions of the MPRDA and NEMA, to Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd when the company was still in operation and when the company still existed.
c) Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd went under liquidation in 2018. The Department was not able to finalise the appeal since the appellant was liquidated.
(2) Yes, a rehabilitation programme was submitted by a company called Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd, wherein it proposed to rehabilitate many parts of the mining area of Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd, namely,
a) Backfilling of the open pit (which lies behind T.C Esterhuysen Primary School and George Harrison Park on R41 Main Reef Road).
b) Backfilling of the open pit (which lies south of the cement plant at approximately 300m from the CRG Plant area).
c) Levelling and cleaning of the CRG Plant Area.
(3) A company called Amatshe (Pty) Ltd provided a rehabilitation plan to backfill and rehabilitate areas that were left by Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd. On 03 December 2021, a directive was issued to Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd by this Department, in terms of section 28 of the NEMA, to rehabilitate the areas that were left in a degraded and unsafe state by the mining operation of Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd.
(4) (a) (i) Rehabilitation are anticipated to resume by June 2021 when all necessary access negotiations between the applicant and Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd have been completed.
(ii) The rehabilitation project will proceed for a period of at least 10 months. Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd.
(b) (i) Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd is rehabilitating for the account of the surface owner and the relevant costs of rehabilitation should be borne by the land owner or whoever the landowner deems fit and appropriate to help. In the case at hand, the costs are to be borne by Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd.
(ii) The rehabilitation programme submitted by Amatshe Mining (Pty) Ltd projected the cost of their rehabilitation project to be R10 400 000.00. In addition, the Department has about R44 774 902.01 held as financial provision provided by Central Rand Gold (Pty) Ltd which could still be used for rehabilitation purposes.