Bultfontein Coal has withdrawn their prospecting rights application.
They had applied for prospecting rights on portions of land that include farms in Holfontein and Vischkuil.
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The company, alongside Eco Elementum, had a public participation meeting in Devon on November 8 to hear from interested and affected parties. Following that meeting, Bultfontein Coal announced on Wednesday that they had withdrawn their application because there are:
• Various conflicting and contested mineral rights over the entire area.
• Critical ecological high sensitivity of the area and surrounding Ramsar site.
• Critical biodiversity areas – CBA irreplaceable areas.
• Land claims.
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Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Kelebogile Sekonyela, a junior environmental practitioner at Eco Elementum, who did the basic assessment report (BAR), on behalf of Bultfontein Coal says, “The applicant was in agreeance that the social, economic and environmental risk was too high.
“It is due to the above exceptional circumstances that Bultfontein Coal (Pty) Ltd tenders this withdrawal of the prospecting rights application and abandon further processing of same.”
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