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Ten new open-cast coal mines to be developed in the untouched Greater Soutpansberg Coalfield located in the far northern Vhembe District of Limpopo Province will supply a mega industrial complex being developed on the edge of the coal-pits.
The ‘Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone’, a 60 Km2 China-South Africa state-backed steel manufacturing industrial zone – the largest such industrial development in South Africa’s history – will drive the strip-mining of the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve for coal, laying waste to the visionary plan to create a landscape-scale conservation area in this wild but fragile region, along with its prospects for truly transformative growth.
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KEY MESSAGES
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- The strip-mining of Limpopo’s Vhembe Biosphere Reserve for coal and coal-fired industrialisation has begun – illegally.
- MC Mining, owned by Chinese coal producer Kinetic Development, has broken ground on what it calls its ‘shovel-ready’ flagship Makhado Colliery – despite the fact that the decision on an appeal against its environmental authorisation is still pending. MC Mining’s commencement of mining activities is thus unlawful and constitutes egregious and ongoing breaches of Section 24F of NEMA on a daily basis.
- Kinetic Development, which in 2024 acquired the rights to exploit the Greater Soutpansberg Coalfield on an area of 107,000 hectares of pristine bushveld in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, is also an anchor investor in the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone – a China-South Africa state-backed steel manufacturing industrial mega-project being developed in this marginal coalfield to create a purpose-built local buyer for the coal and pay for the dedicated power, water and transport infrastructure on which the large-scale expansion of coal mining and coal-fuelled industrialisation depends.
- The scheme to turn the wild heart of Limpopo into another Sacrifice Zone for coal and steel is extremely high-risk with grossly skewed benefits in favour of foreign and fossil fuel industry interests and will come at a terrible cost to the sensitive environment and scarce water resources, poor rural communities, local industries from farming to tourism and the emerging potential of the biodiversity economy, which are all vulnerable to the effects of highly polluting industries and the intensifying climate crisis, as well as South Africa’s ailing domestic steel industry which the MMSEZ will cannibalise, and the debt-burdened public purse given the eye-watering capital costs of developing the zone’s supporting infrastructure.
OPEN LETTER TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
An Open Letter to:
The National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Bathohi, Adv.
The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Deon George
Subject: Urgent Call to Address Illegal Mining Activities at Makhado Colliery
Dear Adv. Bathohi and Honourable Minister George,
We, the undersigned members of the South African public, are deeply concerned about the unlawful mining activities initiated by MC Mining at the Makhado Colliery site located within Limpopo’s Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, a region of immense biodiversity and cultural significance. These operations have commenced despite an unresolved appeal against the environmental authorisation, pending since 2021, which constitutes a clear violation of Section 24F of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).
The implications of this mining operation extend far beyond legal infractions. The planned expansion of coal mining in the region is linked to the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ)—a project designed to support large-scale coal and steel production which threatens to cause severe environmental damage and deplete scarce water resources, undermines South Africa’s climate change commitments and disproportionately benefits foreign- and fossil fuel industry interests at the expense of local communities and industries. Kinetic Development, a Chinese coal producer that is the parent company of MC Mining, is also an anchor investor in the MMSEZ and intends to supply coal to its own ferrochrome smelter in the metallurgical zone.
We call upon you to take immediate action:
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- Cease all mining activities at the Makhado Colliery and ensure that MC Mining begins rehabilitation of the disturbed areas, given its heightened ecological sensitivity.
- Prosecute MC Mining Limited, Baobab Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd and connected entities within the group, and their respective directors under Section 33(2)(c) of NEMA for their ongoing statutory violations.
- Uphold the appeal lodged by Interested and Affected Parties against the 2021 amendment of environmental authorisation granted by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources to MC Mining extending its validity, ensuring that due process is followed in affirming Section 24 of the Constitution.
The unlawful exploitation of our natural heritage by foreign interests for short-term profit undermines our constitutional rights and jeopardises future generations. We urge you to act decisively to uphold environmental justice and protect our shared resources.
Sincerely,
Lauren Liebenberg
Director, Living Limpopo NPC
Carte Blanche Over the last few weeks, our team has been investigating a controversial new industrial project in Limpopo. Sources tell us that protected indigenous trees – including centuries-old baobabs – are being bulldozed to make way for a new special economic zone costing billions. Government is promising it’ll provide thousands of jobs and transform the provincial economy. But communities, environmental activists and farmers are up in arms. Here’s a look at this upcoming investigation.
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