MARLOTH PARK – Residents of the affluent town of Marloth Park are up in arms about plans for an iron ore mine right next to their town.
Notice was given early in November that the mining company, K2013040873 South (Pty) Ltd., applied for a new prospecting right on a huge part of the farm Tenbosch 162 JU.
This application took place as prescribed by section 16 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), No. 28 of 2002 and was submitted to the Mpumalanga regional of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in eMalahleni.
Lowvelder‘s request for more information about the mining company, fell on deaf ears, as the spokesperson Mr K. Masenya was unavailable.
During a company search done by Jeaneth Ntlema at the Shelf Company Warehouse, it was found that the name of the company is Disacure and the owner of company is Shaun Smith, but no address or contact details could be found.
The Marloth Park Property Owners Association were notified on December 22 last year of the intention of this mining company and to register as an interested and affected party with the DMR not later than 28 January 2015.
Tenbosch 162 JU borders Crocodile river next to the Kruger National Park (KNP), Marloth Park, Lionspruit and also Ngwenja Lodge.
Ms Lorinda Steenkamp, of the Marloth Park Property Owners Association (MPPOA) said this was a real threat faced by a large area bordering southern KNP. “I am asking people to take a stance and act against these mining companies which will not stop until every single natural and conservation area has been turned into a mine dump or a huge opencast mine.”
Steenkamp also said that although this is only a prospecting application for iron ore, one has to ask if it should have been allowed in an area that should never be mined.
Fourteen kilometers of the area as indicated on the map, directly borders the Crocodile River and the Kruger National Park. The area includes Marloth Park’s own game reserve Lionspruit, which is home to four of the Big 5.
“Can you imagine the pollution of an opencast iron mine will have on the Crocodile River and KNP?” she asks.
During a question and answer session in Parliament in December 2014, Minister of Water Affairs and Sanitation Ms Nomvula Mokonyane confirmed to the Democratic Alliance that she authorized the mining for minerals in 41 river systems in South Africa.
Steenkamp and other residents in the proposed area wonders if the river next to them will face the same challenge as the Olifants river faced.
The mining company has not indicated whether they got a water licence to accompany this application to prospect.
The application to prospect might lead to the drilling of a lot of holes to proof the presence of iron ore, before a mining licence can be granted.
The MPPOA urge residents in the affected area to come forward and lodge complaints to stop this mining company from polutting this area they are calling home.
