Question NW2658 to the Minister of Mineral Resources

No.

Question

Response

(1)

Whether he has found that the collapse of a pedestrian bridge onto the N3 highway on 9 August 2017, happened at or around the same time as an earth tremor was experienced in the region; if so, (a) was the tremor a result of the previous or current mining activity and (b) was the mining activity that led to the tremor found to be legal or illegal

The Council for Geoscience’s seismic stations indicate that the tremor occurred on the 8th August 2017 at 23:47:23. The tremor was a magnitude 2.3 and occurred within a depth of 3.4km

The Council for Geoscience has not established causality between the stated tremor and either previous or current mining activities.

(2)

Does the Council for Geoscience keep a record of such tremors; if so;

The Council for Geoscience keeps records of all tremors.

(3)

Has the Council for Geoscience reported on any such event; if not, when will the report be made available; if so, what are the relevant details;

The Council for Geoscience records all tremors. Records on specific tremors can be made available. The relevant details are date, time, magnitude and depth.

(4)

Have there been other reports of tremors in the area; if so, how frequent have they been?

Yes, there are tremors that occur in the area and our records indicate a frequency of 1 tremor a week of magnitude 2 and above.