Diamond mine, municipality at loggerheads over water

Diamond recovery mine, Jagersfontein Developments, is at loggerheads with the Free State’s Kopanong local municipality over repairs to water infrastructure.

This comes after the municipality said it had decided to cut water supply to the mine, in order to force management to come to the table regarding the Jagersfontein community’s concerns.

Municipal spokesperson Solomzi Phama did not go into specifics on the water cuts, OFM News reports.

In a letter addressed to mayor Xolile Matwa, municipal manager Martin Kubeka and a group called the Jagersfontein Multi-Stakeholder Mining Forum (JMMF), mine director Henk van Zuydam alleges that last week pumps, piping as well as electrical infrastructure belonging to the company “were destroyed, damaged and/or removed at the sewerage treatment plant” on land belonging to the municipality, as well as on the privately-owned Rietkuil farm where the mine extracts water from a borehole.

In the letter, Van Zuydam says when the mine’s personnel attempted to repair the damage done to the pipes the next day, they were chased away by people they link to JMMF, a group led by community member Surprise Xhwantini.

The company denies allegations that it was extracting water from this borehole illegally. It says it was issued a licence to do so by the department of water and sanitation (DWS).

On the sewerage plant, Van Zuydam says the mine has a lease agreement with the municipality “to ensure that sewage does not flow into” adjacent water sources.

The letter also makes mention of a meeting that took place between the municipality, JMMF and the mine’s representatives on Thursday, December 6 where the matter was discussed.

“Depriving the company of access to the leased land is unlawful and in breach of the lease agreement between the company and the municipality,” warned Van Zuydam.

The origin of the breakdown in the relationship between the mine and the municipality is a community march that took place on Thursday, November 22, where a memorandum of demands was handed in to management, as well as Kopanong.

This memorandum included questions the locals have with regards to the mine and the development of the area.

In mid-September, Premier Sisi Ntombela said they were looking into complaints about the mine. She said the inquiry was headed by the MEC of Police, Roads and Transport Sam Mashinini, who has been actively engaging the Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe on the matter. – OFM News

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