A court case opening on Tuesday is expected to expose the conflict within the South African government as it battles to balance the demands of mining expansion and environmental protection.
Billions of rands are at stake as the government awards huge mining licences while it is accused by communities and environment groups of putting several animal species and ecosystems under threat.
Mpumalanga Lake District Protection Group (MLDPG) has launched a landmark bid to stop a proposed open-cast coal mine in the Lake District in Mpumalanga in the east of the country. The application is to be heard in the Pretoria High Court from Tuesday.
"The social and environmental-impact costs coming with the mining will be high and will only be evident when the mining is over," said MLDPG chairperson Koos Pretorius.
The court case is expected to highlight conflicts between the Department of Minerals and Energy and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Environmental department spokesperson Blessing Manale said existing legislation left the department's "hands tied" and gave its counterpart free reign "to own mining rights and regulate its own environmental impact".
"We have a situation in the country where, once the prospecting licence has been granted, the mining department is allowed to handle its own environmental impact assessment without our involvement," said Manale.
Environmentalists and community members accuse authorities of irregularities in awarding licences and of not taking environmental obligations seriously.
Pretorius, a farmer, said licence applications were pending for mining or prospecting on about 80% of land in the Mpumalanga escarpment area, raising fears that no agriculture or tourism would soon be left.
full story from M&G here
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