South32 applies for desalination plant
Environmental processes kick off to establish Richards Bay's first desalination plant at the Bayside Aluminium Smelter Site
AFTER much interest was shown by local water utility Mhlathuze Water and both City and District municipalities in the establishment of a desalination plant in Richards Bay, South32 was the first to officially sign up by starting the laborious environmental processes.
The company is proposing to build the plant on the Bayside Aluminium Smelter Site adjacent to the port, to feed its Hillside operations.
It will abstract seawater from the Manzamnyama Canal for desalination to remove minerals from enough sea water to produce more than 100 cubic metres of treated water per day.
The project will require a Water Use Licence and Environmental Authorisation by way of a Basic Assessment Report.
‘SE Solutions, on behalf of the Applicant (South32) would like to invite all interested and affected parties to register on the project’s database in order to ensure that you receive all communications with regards to the BA and WUL application processes,’ said the environmental consultant.
A draft basic assessment report will be presented at the first stakeholder meeting at 5pm on 10 May at the South32 Enterprise Supply and Development Centre.
RSVPs must be submitted before 25 April.
For more information, contact Mike Brown on 035 9088483.
