Residents gear up for legal battle against proposed mine
As the community awaits the critical decision of the open pit mine application 3 km from Newcastle's central business district, anti-mining campaigners are bracing for a legal battle to stop what they call an environmental disaster.
Minetek Resources’ application late last year to start an open pit coal mining operation near and upwind of Newcastle’s Western border provoked a heated debate in the community.
A public hearing held at the town hall on November 11 heard that the operation will include the digging of around seven open pits. The project plans said that the coal would be crushed, filtered, and sorted on-site; however, no on-site coal washing was envisioned.
Residents claimed that the coal mining sector has a long history of having a detrimental effect on regional ecosystems, local communities, and workers’ health, in addition to playing a major role in global environmental issues including poor air quality and climate change.
This ignited a vigorous campaign that included conducting their own environmental assessments and encouraging the community to participate in survey as a way to voice their opinions on the proposed mine.
See previous article: https://surl.li/pjzkj
The town now anxiously waits, as the Department of Mineral resources and Energy is yet to make a decision after Cabanga Environmental submitted its latest Environmental Impact Assessment on November 30.
The battle against the proposed mine has now entered into the legal arena.
Led by Mandy Austin and Natalie Kincaid-Smith, daughter of Dr. Brian Wilson, owner of the Grey Goose Lodge, the two have established an NPO, ‘Save Serve and Protect Newcastle’, in preparation for the legal battle that lies ahead.
To pay for the first legal objection, the NPO seeks the Newcastle community’s assistance in raising R300 000 by January 24.
Contributions can be made to the account below:
Account holder: Southeys Attorneys Inc
Account Type: Commercial Attorneys Trust
Account No: 531 4220 7951
Branch name: NEWCASTLE 314
Branch Code: 270324
Swift code: FIRNZAJJ
Please use MAT17064 as your reference
For more information, contact Zak at Southeys Attorneys on 034 31 51241
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