Report clears mine of wrongdoing after village complains of dust and airborne debris

North West families who say that when Tharisa Minerals conducts its blasting operations, rocks fly directly to their village endangering their lives, have rejected the mineral resources and energy department’s investigative report clearing the mine of wrongdoing.

Last month, residents approached the department to report that the mine was operating in close proximity to the village.

Besides the flying rocks, they also complained about dust from the mining site.

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‘Acceptable distance’

The department recently released a report stating the mine’s operation was situated about 650 metres away from the community, which is an acceptable distance.

Community activist Odirile Kgatea said yesterday: “It is true that we are rejecting the report. The reason is that the actual distance between the village and the mining site is 250m, while the report says it’s more than 600m.

“Initially, we were told we were going to be part of the investigation team but none of us was there when it was conducted. We will communicate with the officials from the department to see how we can have the investigation redone.”

Kgatea said the community suspected that the measurement of the distance between the mine and the village had been tampered with.

He said the noise from the mine was unbearable and affected the community, especially at night when they were trying to sleep.

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A resident, Rodney Kotsedi, agreed about the report and said the investigation should be redone.

Kotsedi said it was puzzling that the report denied that the rocks were reaching the community when one of the rocks fell near his house on 4 June.

The report showed that “the complaint against Tharisa Minerals was registered by the members of the Maditlokwa community alleging there were flying rocks during blasting of the west and far-west pits in June 2024.

“They requested the intervention from the office of the principal inspector of mines. The findings of the investigation established that the pit blast is approximately 650 metres from the nearest community,” the report read.

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