Uthaka Energy persists with plans for a colliery in Mabola Protected Environment despite six court judgments.
By John Yeld, GroundUp 1 May 2024 04:04
Judgment has been reserved in the latest battle in a decade-long legal war to prevent a large underground coal mine from being established in the heart of the Mabola Protected Environment near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga.
This 8 772-hectare protected area was formally proclaimed in January 2014 because of its ecological sensitivity as a high-yielding, strategic water catchment area within a threatened grassland ecosystem.
The proposed Yzermyn coal mine lies within the Enkangala-Drakensberg Strategic Water Source Area, one of only 21 such areas in the country, described by the national water department as “strategic national assets that are vital for water security, and need to be acknowledged as such at the highest level across all sectors”.
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