Annex 2A. GCS Consolidated MR133 (2014)

Transcription

1 Annex 2A GCS Consolidated MR133 (2014)

2 5 De Wet Street PO Box 745 Piet Retief 2380 Tel: +27 (0) Fax: +27 (0) Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd): Proposed Expansion of Mining Operations Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Programme Report In terms of Section 102 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002) Final 25 April 2014 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) GCS Project Number: Client Reference: Section 102 EMP DMR Ref: MP 30/5/1/2/2/133MR MP 30/5/1/2/2/134MR MP 30/5/1/1/2/209MR Submitted on behalf of Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd by GCS Water & Environment (Pty) Ltd GCS (Pty) Ltd. Reg No: 2004/000765/07 Est Offices: Durban Johannesburg Lusaka Ostrava Pretoria Windhoek Directors: AC Johnstone (Managing) PF Labuschagne AWC Marais S Pilane F Pieterse

3 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Programme Report for the Proposed Expansion of Mining Operations at Kangra Coal Final - 25 April 2014 DMR Ref: MP 30/5/1/2/2/133MR MP 30/5/1/2/2/134MR MP 30/5/1/1/2/209MR Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) DOCUMENT ISSUE STATUS GCS Project Number: Report Issue Final GCS Reference Number GCS Ref Client Reference Section 102 EMP Title Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Report for the Proposed Expansion of Mining Operations at Kangra Coal Name Signature Date Author Document Reviewer Director Jane Mahaba/Renee Janse van Rensburg Tanja Bekker Ferdi Pieterse LEGAL NOTICE April 2014 April 2014 April 2014 This report or any proportion thereof and any associated documentation remain the property of GCS until the mandator effects payment of all fees and disbursements due to GCS in terms of the GCS Conditions of Contract and Project Acceptance Form. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, any reproduction, duplication, copying, adaptation, editing, change, disclosure, publication, distribution, incorporation, modification, lending, transfer, sending, delivering, serving or broadcasting must be authorised in writing by GCS April 2014 Page i

4 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application April 2014 Page ii

5 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application DISCLAIMER Information contained in this report is based on data/information supplied to GCS Water and Environment (Pty) Ltd (GCS) by the client and other external sources (including previous site investigation data and external specialist studies). It has been assumed that the information provided to GCS is correct and as such the accuracy of the conclusions made are reliant on the accuracy and completeness of the data supplied. No responsibility is accepted by GCS for incomplete or inaccurate data supplied by the client and/or other external sources. Opinions expressed in this report apply to the site conditions and features that existed at the time of the start of the relevant investigations and the production of this report April 2014 Page iii

6 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd (Kangra Coal) has approved Environmental Management Programmes (EMPs) for its Maquasa West, Maquasa East and Nooitgesien mining areas. The existing rights for these Kangra Coal project areas are as follows: Maquasa East (underground, opencast and processing plant) (Conversion For New Order Mining Right lodged 4 April 2006) The applicant is the lawful holder of the Old Order Mining right, Licence No. 41/96, Reference No.: OT 5/3/2/333, date issued: 3 December 1996, granted in terms of the Minerals Act (Act No. 50 of 1991) in respect of the farms Maquasa 19HT and Roodekraal 21 HT in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom. Nooitgesien (underground)(conversion For New Order Mining Right lodged 4 April 2006) The applicant is the lawful holder of the Old Order Mining right, Licence No. 26/2003, Reference No.: OT 5/3/2/550, date issued: 16 October 2003, granted in terms of the Minerals Act (Act No. 50 of 1991) in respect of a Portion of Remainder of Nooitgesien 381 IT and a Portion of Mineral Area 1 of Maquasa 19 HT in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom. Maquasa West (underground)(new Order Mining Right) Kangra Coal is the lawful holder of the New Order Mining right, Protocol No. 651/2008, Reference No.: MP 30/5/1/1/2/209 MR, date issued: 15 May 2008, granted in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act No. 28 of 2002), in respect of Portions 1 and 2 of the farm Kransbank 15 HT in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom. Kangra Coal has opted to expand these existing operations and therefore appointed GCS (Pty) Ltd (GCS) as the relevant Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) responsible for undertaking the necessary environmental authorisations. Authorisations are required in terms of Section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) as well as in terms of Section 39 and Section 102 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA). Kangra Coal submitted a Section 102 application in terms of the MPRDA to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in March 2012 in order to consolidate all existing EMPs into one consolidated document. In addition to the development of the consolidated EMP in respect of the Section 102 application, Kangra Coal is planning to expand their existing mining operations with the addition of new opencast pits, the addition of new underground mining areas accessed from the opencast pits, and the associated rock discard dumps. For this April 2014 Page iv

7 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application reason the DMR requested Kangra Coal to update the Section 102 application and re-submit the consolidated EMP report to the Department following the completion of all associated specialist studies. Project Description The proposed mine expansion project that was assessed by GCS entailed the following: The addition of two (2) new opencast resource pits at Maquasa East (Pit A and D); The expansion of four (4) opencast resource pits at Maquasa West (Pit A, B, C and D); The addition of four (4) new opencast resource pits at Nooitgesien (Pit E, F, G and H); The addition of two (2) underground resource areas at Nooitgesien; and The addition of four (4) waste rock discard dumps at Nooitgesien (Dump 1, 2, 3 and 4). Kangra Coal has indicated that all existing ancillary infrastructure such as workshops, offices, sewage facilities, power supply and water supply at Maquasa East and Maquasa West will be utilised as far as is practicable during the expansion operations. It has been noted, however, that additional dewatering may take place on the site in the vicinity of the proposed opencast areas. Description of the Mining operation and Method The geology of the area consists of sedimentary lithologies of the Vryheid Formation of the Ecca Group. The formation is characterised by thick beds of yellow-white cross-bedded sandstone and grit, which alternate with beds of soft, dark grey, sandy shale. The coal is located on the Western side of the farm Maquasa 19HT under the mountain range. Mining will take place at a rate of tons of coal per month with an estimated life of mine of 5-6 years Opencast Mining The opencast mining method is conventional opencast strip mining and the roll-over mining method, with rehabilitation on an ongoing basis. The roll-over method implies that the overburden is stripped from the initial cut and thereafter stockpiled. However, with each successive cut taken, the overburden/soils stripped will be used to backfill and top dress the previous cut April 2014 Page v

8 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Underground Mining Underground mining is conducted using conventional board-and-pillar layouts with checker board stooping. Checker board stooping is the removal of every second pillar as to leave a checker board effect after stooping and still allows for the roof to be stable and not collapse. Environmental Process The consolidation of all the existing Kangra Coal EMPs, as well as the inclusion of the proposed new additional mining areas will be undertaken in terms of Section 102 of the MPRDA. A consolidated EMP report will be developed for Kangra Coal and submitted to the DMR, the competent authority in Witbank, for review and authorisation. The EMP describes the goals and objectives for environmental management to minimize or eliminate the potential negative environmental impacts that will result from the various activities taking place on the proposed mining expansion areas. The EMP further provides action plans to bring effect to the goals and objectives identified for Kangra Coal, the procedures to be implemented to ensure integration of environmental management into the daily operations of the proposed project expansion, as well as a plan to raise awareness among employees and the surrounding community with regards to environmental management of the entire mining operation. The objectives of the environmental processes undertaken is to identify the positive/negative impacts associated with the proposed operation as well as to propose potential mitigation/management measures that may lessen the identified impacts. In order to mitigate potentially negative impacts and to identify any potential fatal flaws that may render the project environmentally unacceptable, GCS have adopted an integrated, step-by-step process to identify issues of concern and to thoroughly investigate these issues. The environmental impact assessment undertaken will address all phases related to the proposed mining operation, which include the following phases: Pre-construction Phase; Construction Phase; Operation Phase; and Closure and Decommissioning Phase April 2014 Page vi

9 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Alternatives Site Alternatives Due to the nature of mining operations, mining can only take place where an identified resource exists. Thus the location of the proposed opencast pits and underground resource areas cannot be relocated to other farms. Kangra coal also has an existing mining right in the areas identified for the expansion project. Layout Alternative Based on an assessment of the revised layout plans by the applicant and the EAP, as well as taking the concerns of the specialist investigators and I&APs as raised in the Scoping Phase into consideration, the decision to approve Layout 3 9wgich entails the development of two open cast pits in Maquasa east excluding the previously identified pit C and Pit B). as the final project layout was taken. As such, the EIA will address the proposed expansion project based on the development of 2 opencast pits at Maquasa East, 4 opencast pits at Maquasa West, 4 opencast pits at Nooitgesien and 2 underground resource areas at Nooitgesien. In addition, the assessment of the proposed roads and 4 waste rock discard dumps at Nooitgesien will be included. No Go option Based on the review of the current mining operations and the assessment of the proposed expansion it is evident that the no go option will result in some clearly identifiable positive impacts, the majority of which are to the benefit of the environment. The no go option will, however, result in the ultimate decommissioning and closure of the mine with a resultant negative impact on the number of people employed in the area as well as the local economy. At this time in the country, when economic crises loom and expenses, such as fuel and food purchasing, continually increasing, the loss of jobs may be felt more now than ever.. Public Participation The Public Participation Process (PPP) is a requirement of the EIA/EMP process under the NEMA, and ensures that all relevant I&APs are consulted and involved. The process ensures that all stakeholders have an opportunity to raise their issues and concerns as part of an open and transparent process, which in turn ensures for a complete comprehensive environmental study. Scoping Phase April 2014 Page vii

10 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application The PPP for the Scoping phase comprised of the following: Placement of Advertisements in the Highverlder and Excelsior News publications (English and Zulu); The placement of Site notices in Driefontein and Piet Retief; Distribution of Background Information Documents to I&APs on the database and in Driefontein; Written Notifications to I&APs on the database; Public Consultation Meetings Held in Piet Retief on 4 December 2012 and Driefontein on 5 December 2012; Review of draft Environmental Scoping Report from 6 December 2012 to 15 February EIA Phase Placement of Advertisements in the Highverlder and Excelsior News publications (English and Zulu); The placement of Site notices in Driefontein and Piet Retief; Distribution of Background Information Documents to I&APs on the database and in Driefontein; Written Notifications to I&APs on the database; Public Consultation Meetings Held in Piet Retief on 4 December 2012 and Driefontein on 5 December 2012; Review of draft Environmental Scoping Report from 6 December 2012 to 15 February The main issues raised during the consultation process are included in the table below: April 2014 Page viii

11 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Issues Raise during Public Consultation Aspect Issue Raised Public Participation Process Interaction with community and interested stakeholders Health The status of water courses around the mine is not in a good condition, contaminated water draining into main source of drinking water. Cultural Some graves will be relocated Socio-Economic Measures for local procurement; Job Creation and Opportunities ; Previous promises on social development have not been met by Kangra Coal. The mine does no benefit the people of Driefontein which is in close proximity to the mine Environmental and Water Related Issues Noise and dust. Surface water contamination from decanting water. Groundwater contamination. Impact on the grassland areas forming part of the Enkangala grassland project management area. Environmental Impact Assessment The impact assessment describes and evaluates the potential impact of the proposed mining and related activities, processes and actions, on the surrounding environment. It is the purpose the EIA/EMP report to indicate the impacts on the various aspects of the environment that are anticipated to be associated with the proposed activities. Imp further provides the management measures and action plans recommended to manage the potential impacts rated in the EIA section. In addition the management measures provide the responsible person with compliance requirements (i.e. timeframes and guidelines) to ensure that these commitments are adhered to and implemented and the priority of these commitments. In order to determine the significance Pre-Construction Phase During the pre-construction phase, the following activities need to be undertaken: Environmental authorisations; Applicable permitting; Baseline monitoring (key environmental variables) April 2014 Page ix

12 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Construction Phase During the construction phase, the following activities could, where applicable, impact on the bio-physical environment and the cultural/social setting: Stripping of vegetation; Stripping of topsoil and subsoil as construction activities start on site; Impact on water system and associated wetlands due to the construction activities; Construction of the clean and dirty water systems; Possible compaction of soils by the establishment of topsoil stockpiles and berms; Dust dispersion from infrastructure construction and decline shaft construction activities; and Job creation, supplier industry, local economics. Operational Phase During the operational phase, the following activities could impact on the bio-physical environment and the cultural/social setting: Opencast and Underground mining activities; Possible compaction of soils and erosion of soil stockpiles and berms by wind and water; Impact on surface- and groundwater system due to the operational activities; Dust dispersion from workings; Clean and dirty water control and maintenance; Sewage management; and Job creation, supplier industry, local economics. Decommissioning and Closure Phase When the decision is taken to decommission the mine, the following objectives and proposed actions for the decommissioning and closure phase of the mine could be considered: Recovery of all saleable infrastructure; Demolition of structures; Ripping of all compacted areas, which will be followed with amelioration and vegetation; Ensure that all remaining dumps, stockpiles and slopes are sufficiently shaped to blend in with the surrounding environment and remaining infrastructure; Amelioration and vegetation of all disturbed areas; Maintenance of all re-vegetated areas up until such areas initiate succession and create a sustainable cover; April 2014 Page x

13 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Monitoring of key environmental variables (i.e. soils, vegetation, groundwater and surface water) in order to demonstrate stability of rehabilitated areas; Weed management after closure, limited to areas disturbed by mining, mining infrastructure or included in the mining right area; and Monitoring will be undertaken for a specific period after closure or up until such time that all areas create a sustainable cover and ecosystem. Closure Cost Kangra Coal are required to develop a detailed closure cost assessment based on the DMR guideline document, Guideline Document for the Evaluation of the Quantum of Closure- Related Financial Provision Provided by a Mine, published in The guideline document provides a generic approach to the determination of the quantum for financial provision by the DMR. This approach aims to avoid a situation of applying non-aligned empirical approaches and interpretations between DMR regional offices. The closure cost estimate (clean closure) was determined for the Kangra Coal Mine Operations in accordance with the DMR guidelines and based on a CPIX increase and actual contractor rates in The closure costs for the Maquasa Expansion Project are as follows: Sub-Total 1: R 34,794, (excluding VAT) Sub-Total 2: R 36,534, (excluding VAT) Sub-Total 3: R 50,811, (including VAT) Conclusion and Recommendations Mineral processing takes place at the existing washing plant on the Eastern portions of the Mining area. Consideration was given to the establishment of a new plant on the Western portions of the Mining area but this would have resulted in the disturbance of a far larger area. The existing Maquasa East washing plant is fed by the existing conveyor. No alternatives are feasible in terms of mineral processing and transport. Coal will be transported via the overland conveyor and mineral processing will take place at the existing Maquasa East plant as these prove more economically viable and reduce additional expenses. Run of Mine (ROM) coal from the mining operations located on the Western portions of the site is conveyed to the washing plant via an overland conveyor belt. The plant consists of a primary crushing circuit designed to screen 1,000 t/h of minus 150 mm ROM feed. The ROM stockpile feed into a secondary double roll crusher, which has been designed to screen and April 2014 Page xi

14 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application crush 600 t/h. The screen first separates the 75 mm undersize from the oversize, which is fed to the secondary crusher for sizing to form a 75 mm product. The crusher product and undersize streams are then conveyed as plant feed to a 150 t surge bin. From the surge bin the coal is conveyed to a de-sliming screen or pre-wet screen. This de-sliming screen has been designed to wash the 0.5 mm dust off the coal before it is fed to the dense medium cyclone. The two cyclone circuits have been designed to collectively produce t/h of washed coal. Two product streams are formed from the two cyclone circuits, a duff product (-10 mm) and a coarser product (+10 mm to 50 mm). From the cyclones the stone waste stream and the two product streams are passed to a drain and rinse system. In the drain and rinse system, the magnetite is washed and drained off coal. The coal discard will typically be left containing approximately 0.3 kg/ton magnetite after the drain and screen process. The final product is delivered as the 10 mm duff to 75 mm coarser product. The coarser product is then screened in a product screen to form to size products, +30 mm to 50mm and +10mm to 30mm. The three coal product streams are fed into storage bins for haulage. Based on the detailed environmental impact assessment undertaken and the proposed management measures proposed, the EAP is of the opinion that the proposed expansion project can be approved provided the applicant adheres to the management and mitigation measures proposed. If the mitigation and management measures are not implemented and adhered to, the potential impact on the environment could be detrimental to the region, with specific reference to the decanting water in the area which may impact on the Heyshope Dam. The applicant has to take the following reccomendations into consideration in order to to adequately manage environmental impacts on site: Kangra must obtain all relevant environmental licences, permits to ensure that the mine is operating with all licences in place. Kangra Coal has made commitment from to make sure that interaction the in teraction with the new Driefontein Community Forum to mediate and mend the current relationkship. Kangra will continue consultation with Forum to deal with all historical issues April 2014 Page xii

15 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application CONTENTS PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND PROJECT BACKGROUND BRIEF PROJECT DESCRIPTION CONTACT DETAILS TITLE DEED DESCRIPTION LEGAL BACKGROUND THE CONSTITUTION ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES Polluter Pays Principle Precautionary Principle Preventive Principle Cradle-to-Grave The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS The Process in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) The Process in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER REPORTING Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Environmental Management Programme (EMP) Reporting Structure (EIA/EMP) DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION REGIONAL SETTING Magisterial District and Relevant Regional Services Council Neighbouring Towns SURFACE INFRASTRUCTURE Power lines Railway lines Pipelines PRESENCE OF SERVITUDES LAND TENURE AND USE OF ADJACENT LAND RIVER CATCHMENT DESCRIPTION OF THE MINING OPERATIONS Mineral Deposit Mine Product Estimated Reserves Mining Method Processing and Supply EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS PROPOSED MINING DEVELOPMENT Proposed Expansion of the Maquasa East Operations Proposed Expansion of the Maquasa West Operations Proposed Expansion of the Nooitgesien Operations Proposed Access/Haul Roads Diesel Storage Storm water Management System, Storm water Dams and Pollution Dams Beneficiation Domestic and Industrial Waste Housing April 2014 Page xiii

16 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application 4 PROJECT ALTERNATIVES THE PROPOSED PROPERTY WHERE THE ACTIVITY WILL OCCUR THE TYPE OF ACTIVITY TO BE UNDERTAKEN THE OPERATIONAL ASPECTS OF THE ACTIVITY Type of Mining Implemented Method of Mined Coal Transportation THE DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF THE ACTIVITY Layout 1: Proposed Opencast and Underground Mining (Maquasa East and Nooitgesien) Layout 2: Proposed Opencast and Underground Mining (Maquasa East, Maquasa West and Nooitgesien) Layout 3: Proposed Opencast and Underground Mining (Maquasa East, Maquasa West and Nooitgesien) NO GO OPTION DETAILED ENVIRONMENTAL DESCRIPTION GEOLOGY Regional Geology Local Geology Structural Geology Sedimentology TOPOGRAPHY CLIMATE Temperature Wind Rainfall SOIL, LAND USE AND LAND CAPABILITY Land Types Soil Classification Land Capability Land Use and Agricultural Potential FLORA Maquasa East Maquasa West and Nooitgesien FAUNA Maquasa East Maquasa West and Nooitgesien WETLANDS Maquasa East Maquasa West Expansion Nooitgesien Expansion HYDROLOGY Catchment delineation, characterization, properties, and land use Floods and Run-off Water Quality Results Floodlines GEOHYDROLOGY Aquifer Description Aquifer Parameters Groundwater Quality Aquifer Potential Geochemical Analyses Groundwater Modeling Results ARCHAEOLOGY Graves April 2014 Page xiv

17 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Historical Remains SOCIO ECONOMIC STRUCTURE Unemployment PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS PURPOSE OF THE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS SCOPING PHASE Identification of I&APs List of Authorities Consulted Notification of Stakeholders Document Review ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PHASE Notification of Stakeholders Public Meetings Document Review Environmental Authorisation Issues raise during the Consultaion process Issues raise during the Consultaion process IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS (EIA) AND ISSUES WITH MANAGEMENT MEASURES AND ACTION PLANS (EMP) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SIGNIFICANCE RATING METHODOLOGY PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OPERATIONAL PHASE CLOSURE AND DECOMMISSIONING PHASE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS MONITORING MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME GEOHYDROLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL MONITORING REQUIREMENTS Hydrological Surface Water Monitoring Geohydrological (Groundwater) Monitoring Dust Monitoring Mine Environmental Audits ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS PLAN FINANCIAL PROVISION Methodology ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMME AIM OF REHABILITATION PLAN REHABILITATION OBJECTIVES MANAGEMENT CRITERIA FOR THE REHABILITATION OF LAND SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION REHABILITATION REHABILITATION RESPONSIBILITIES IDENTIFICATION OF GAPS GENERAL SPECIALIST STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT CONCLUSION April 2014 Page xv

18 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1: Location of the existing and proposed mining areas in relation to the project area and the municipal boundaries of the Mpumalanga Province... 4 Figure 1-2: Kangra Coal mining right area farm portions and ownership Figure 3-1: Neighbouring Towns Figure 3-2: Infrastructure Figure 3-3: Roll- over mining method Figure 3-4: Proposed Expansion of the Maquasa East Operations Figure 3-5: Proposed Expansion of the Nooitgesien Operations Figure 3-6: Proposed Roads Required Figure 4-1: Layout 1 (4 Pits at Maquasa East, 4 Pits at Nooitgesien and 2 Underground Areas at Nooitgesien) Figure 4-2: Previously Approved Opencast Areas at Maquasa West Figure 4-3: Layout 2 (4 Pits at Maquasa East, 4 Pits at Maquasa West, 4 Pits at Nooitgesien and 2 Underground Areas at Nooitgesien) Figure 4-4: Layout 3 (2 Pits at Maquasa East, 4 Pits at Maquasa West, 4 Pits at Nooitgesien and 2 Underground Areas at Nooitgesien).Proposed Open Cast Pits Excluding Pit C and B (Maquasa East).. 54 Figure 5-1: Geology of the area Figure 5-2: Topography of the area Figure 5-3: Temperature variations Figure 5-4: Humidity variations Figure 5-5: Piet Retief windrose Figure 5-6: W52A quaternary catchment rainfall Figure 5-7: Soils Landtypes of the Project Area Figure 5-8: Soil Types at Maquasa East Figure 5-9: Soil Types at Nooitgesien Figure 5-10: Maquasa East Land Capability Figure 5-11:Nooitgesien Land Capability Figure 5-12: Horses of the local community grazing in the area of Nooitgesien Figure 5-13: Vegetation Map Figure 5-14: Vegetation Map, Conservation Status Figure 5-15: Diagram illustrating the position of the various wetland types within the landscape Figure 5-16: Kangra Coal Expansion Area Catchments Figure 5-17: Sampling points locations Figure 5-18: 100 Metre Buffer Areas Figure 5-19: Correlation between surface elevation and groundwater level elevation for the Maquasa Area Figure 5-20: Piper Diagram Figure 5-21: Classification of samples in terms of %S and NP/AP Figure 5-22: Points where the depth to water level is higher than average Figure 5-23: Maquasa Expansion Project Simulated drawdown water level contours at end of mining year Figure 5-24: Maquasa Expansion Project Simulated sulphate contamination plumes 20 years after closure. SO 4 = 500mg/l Figure 5-25: Maquasa Expansion Project Simulated sulphate contamination plumes 20 years after closure. SO 4 = 2000mg/l Figure 5-26: Graves and Graveyards in the Study Area Figure 5-27: Dwelling and Historical remains in the Study Area April 2014 Page xvi

19 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1: Details of the Applicant Table 1-2: Title deed description of the farm portions that comprise the Kangra Coal mining right area Table 2-1: Description of the S&EIR process in terms of GN R543 in GG of 18 June Table 2-2: Details of the EAP Table 3-1: Extent and location of the Proposed Discard dumps Table 3-2: Details of the proposed roads required in the Expansion Areas Table 5-1: Mean Mean Monthly Wind Direction and Speed Table 5-2: Mean Hourly Wind Speed Analysis Table 5-3: Mean Some Soil Forms and Families Found at Kangra Coal Table 5-4: Pre-Mining Land Capability Requirements Table 5-5: Sample Points Table 5-6: Summary of new monitoring boreholes Table 5-7: Summary of hydrocensus data Table 5-8: Aquifer Test Information Table 5-9: Groundwater Chemistry Results Table 5-10: Groundwater Chemistry Results Table 5-11: Description of minerals present Table 5-12: Screening methods using the NP:AP ratio (Price, 1997) Table 5-13: NAG test screening method (edited from Miller et al., 1997) Table 5-14: Acid-base accounting (ABA) results Table 5-15: Potential for various rock units to generate acidic drainage Table 5-16: Net acid generation (NAG) test results Table 5-17: Calculated inflow volumes at year 5 end of mining phase Table Calculated inflow volumes at steady state conditions (years 6-8) decommissioning and closure phases Table 5-20: Mean Population Statistics Table 7-1: Impacts and Management Measures for Pre-Construction Activities Table 7-2: Impacts and Management Measures for Construction Phase Activities: Establishment of Infrastructure and road development Table 7-3: Impacts and Management Measures for Construction Phase Activities: Vehicle Movement Table 7-4: Impacts and Management Measures for Construction Phase Activities: Waste Handling 175 Table 7-5: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Mining of Coal Table 7-6: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Product Stockpiling Table 7-7: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Clean and Dirty Water Separation Table 7-8: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Waste Generation and Handling Table 7-9: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Hydrocarbon Storage and Handling Table 7-10: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Treatment of Sewage Effluent Table 7-11: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Linear Infrastructure Table 7-12: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Operation of Plant Table 7-13: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Water Supply and Storage Table 7-14: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Co-disposal Facility April 2014 Page xvii

20 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Table 7-15: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Vehicles and Machinery on Site Table 7-16: Impacts and Management Measures for Operational Phase Activities: Conveyor Belt Table 7-17: Impacts and Management Measures for Closure and Decommissioning Phase Activities: Removal of Infrastructure Table 7-18: Impacts and Management Measures for Closure and Decommissioning Phase Activities: Active Rehabilitation Table 7-19: Impacts and Management Measures for Closure and Decommissioning Phase Activities: Residual Impacts Post Closure Table 7-20: Impacts and Management Measures for Cumulative Impacts Table 8-1: Proposed Monitoring Actions and General Responsibilities Table 8-2: Proposed surface water quality monitoring programme outline Table 8-3. Groundwater Monitoring Schedule Table 10-1: Closure Cost for Kangra Expansion project Table 10-2: Closure Costs (2013) Excluding Expasion project Table 11-1: Responsibilities and Responsible Parties for Rehabilitation Activities April 2014 Page xviii

21 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd (Kangra) has approved Environmental Management Programes (EMPs) for its Maquasa East, Maquasa West and Nooitgesien mining areas. Kangra submitted a Section 102 application in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA) to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in March 2012 in order to consolidate all existing EMPs into one EMP. All of the mining right areas as detailed below are serviced by one process plant and associated discard dump located on the Maquasa East mining area, inherently linking all of the coal operations and financial provisions and as such contributing to and sharing the environmental liabilities of the processing plant and discard dump. Upon recommendation of the DMR, and in line with the Integrated Environmental Management Principles of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA), it is proposed that all of the mining operations, which feed into the processing plant, be managed holistically on an integrated basis which considers the combined environmental impacts and liabilities of the mining operations in the area. Such management is aimed be achieved through the combination of the various mining rights as mentioned below. Furthermore, in this report, a combined EMP has been drafted combining the approved EMPs to facilitate the combination of the mining rights, as discussed with the DMR. The mining rights to be combined comprise the following: Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd (Kangra Coal) has approved Environmental Management Programmes (EMPs) for its Maquasa West, Maquasa East and Nooitgesien mining areas. The existing rights for these Kangra Coal project areas are as follows: Maquasa East (underground, opencast and processing plant) (Conversion For New Order Mining Right lodged 4 April 2006) The applicant is the lawful holder of the Old Order Mining right, Licence No. 41/96, Reference No.: OT 5/3/2/333, date issued: 3 December 1996, granted in terms of the Minerals Act (Act No. 50 of 1991) in respect of the farms Maquasa 19HT and Roodekraal 21 HT in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom. Nooitgesien (underground)(conversion For New Order Mining Right lodged 4 April 2006) The applicant is the lawful holder of the Old Order Mining right, Licence No. 26/2003, Reference No.: OT 5/3/2/550, date issued: 16 October 2003, granted in terms of the Minerals Act (Act No. 50 of 1991) in respect of a Portion of Remainder April 2014 Page 1

22 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application of Nooitgesien 381 IT and a Portion of Mineral Area 1 of Maquasa 19 HT in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom. Maquasa West (underground)(new Order Mining Right) Kangra Coal is the lawful holder of the New Order Mining right, Protocol No. 651/2008, Reference No.: MP 30/5/1/1/2/209 MR, date issued: 15 May 2008, granted in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act No. 28 of 2002), in respect of Portions 1 and 2 of the farm Kransbank 15 HT in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom. Maquasa West Amendment (New Order Mining Right) Kangra Coal has applied for the amendment of its existing New Order Mining Right in terms of the MPRDA, in respect of a portion of the mineral area 1 on the farm Maquasa 19 HT and a portion of the remainder of the farm Nooitgesien 381 IT. Kangra Coal has opted to expand these existing operations and therefore appointed GCS (Pty) Ltd (GCS) as the relevant Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) responsible for undertaking the necessary environmental authorisations. Authorisations are required in terms of Section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) as well as in terms of Section 39 and Section 102 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA). In the event that the Section 102 application is approved, all of the above-mentioned mining rights will be legislated under the MPRDA which will enable the mine to follow and allow for the integrated environmental management approach opposed to the individual, fragmented management approach which does not allow for the management of overarching environmental issues and considerations. 1.1 Project Background Kangra Coal submitted a Section 102 application in terms of the MPRDA to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in March 2012 in order to consolidate all existing EMPs into one consolidated document. In addition to the development of the consolidated EMP in respect of the Section 102 application, Kangra Coal is planning to expand their existing mining operations with the addition of new opencast pits, the addition of new underground mining areas accessed from the opencast pits, and the associated rock discard dumps. For this reason the DMR requested Kangra Coal to update the Section 102 application and re-submit the consolidated EMP report to the Department following the completion of all associated specialist studies. This report addresses those requirements of the DMR April 2014 Page 2

23 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application After due consideration in the NEMA Scoping Phase (Ref No. 17/2/3 GS-108), Kangra Coal has also proposed additional open cast pits and the extension of existing opencast pits in the Maquasa West area. Kangra Coal has indicated that all existing ancillary infrastructure in the Maquasa East and Maquasa West areas such as workshops, offices, sewage facilities, power supply and water supply will be utilized for the expansion project. All the above-mentioned operations together with the proposed new opencast and underground areas, will be included in the Section 102 application for the DMR in order to combine all the above operations into one EMP. The proposed opencast areas and the potential underground areas all fall within the existing approved mining right area for Kangra Coal. In addition to the proposed new mining areas, Kangra Coal will also extend the existing conveyor route from Maquasa West to accommodate the proposed mine expansion as well as to link to the proposed Kusipongo Project (NEMA Ref Number: 17/2/3 GS-52). The extension of the conveyor route does not, however, form part of this application; instead it is being undertaken as part of the Kusipongo Project application. 1.2 Brief Project Description The proposed mine expansion project that was assessed by GCS entailed the following (Figure 1-1): The addition of two (2) new opencast resource pits at Maquasa East (Pit A and D); The expansion of four (4) opencast resource pits at Maquasa West (Pit A, B, C and D); The addition of four (4) new opencast resource pits at Nooitgesien (Pit E, F, G and H); The addition of two (2) underground resource areas at Nooitgesien; and The addition of four (4) waste rock discard dumps at Nooitgesien (Dump 1, 2, 3 and 4) April 2014 Page 3

24 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Figure 1-1: Location of the existing and proposed mining areas in relation to the project area and the municipal boundaries of the Mpumalanga Province. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) Kangra Coal has indicated that all existing ancillary infrastructure such as workshops, offices, sewage facilities, power supply and water supply at Maquasa East and Maquasa West will be utilised as far as is practicable during the expansion operations. It has been noted, however, that additional dewatering may take place on the site in the vicinity of the proposed opencast areas. In addition, diesel storage will be required in each area as will access roads and an extended conveyor route between the proposed opencast pits and underground areas and the existing infrastructure areas (Maquasa East and Maquasa West) and the coal washing plant (Maquasa East). Coal mined from the proposed underground areas at Nooitgesien will be transported along the extended conveyor route to the coal washing plant at Maquasa East. 1.3 Contact Details The applicant in this environmental authorisation process is Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd. The applicant s contact details are provided in Table April 2014 Page 4

25 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Table 1-1: Details of the Applicant. NAME OF THE APPLICANT Kangra Coal (Pty) Ltd CONTACT PERSON Mr. Harry Jennings PHYSICAL ADDRESS 5 De Wet Street Piet Retief 2380 POSTAL ADDRESS P.O. Box 745 Piet Retief techmanager@kangra.co.za TELEPHONE NUMBER Title Deed Description Table 1-2 provides the Title Deed descriptions for the farm portions applicable to the entire existing Kangra Coal mining right area. The mining right area and associated farm portions is presented in Figure 1-2. Table 1-2: Title deed description of the farm portions that comprise the Kangra Coal mining right area. APPROVED EMPR FARM NAME PORTION NUMBER TITLE DEED OWNER Maquasa East Maquasa 19 Remaining extent T145840/2004 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd (underground & HT opencast) Roodekral 21 Remaining extent T47074/2005 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd HT Nooitgesien Maquasa 19 Remaining T145840/2004 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd (underground) HT Roodekraal Remaining T47074/2005 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd 21 HT Kransbank 15 HT 1 T139369/2000 Ekaluka Communal Property Association 2 T139369/2000 Ekaluka Communal Property Association Maquasa 19 HT Portion of Mineral area 1 T145840/2004 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd Nooitgesien Portion of the T36896/2006 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd April 2014 Page 5

26 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application APPROVED EMPR FARM NAME PORTION NUMBER TITLE DEED OWNER 381 IT remainder Maquasa West Rooikop 18 Portion of mineral T78816/2004 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd (opencast) HT area 1 on the remainder Maquasa 19 Portion of Mineral T145840/2004 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd HT area 1 Nooitgesien Portion of the T36896/2006 Kangra Coal Pty Ltd 381 IT remainder Figure 1-2: Kangra Coal mining right area farm portions and ownership. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) April 2014 Page 6

27 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application 2 LEGAL BACKGROUND For most of its history, the mining industry in South Africa has not been subjected to comprehensive environmental regulation. However, in recent years, this has changed significantly and the industry is now required to comply with a multifaceted network of mining and environmental legislation. There are no shortages of policy and legal frameworks to ensure responsible mining in South Africa. The Minerals and Mining Policy for South Africa, 1998 affirmed that the State, as custodian of the nation s natural resources will support mining development while maintaining and enhancing environmental awareness of the mining industry in accordance with national environmental policy, norms and standards. To this end, 10 principles on sustainable mining were adopted. These include the adoption of the precautionary approach as well as the polluter pays principle; assertion that a consistent standard of environmental impact management would be adopted, irrespective of the scale of mining concerned; encouraging the mining industry to reduce problems of pollution by promoting a culture of waste minimisation through recycling, and re-use of waste products; and ensuring the effective implementation of environmental management measures and monitoring of occurrences of pollution, amongst others. For the purposes of this application, only authorization in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, Act No. 107 of 1998 (hereinafter referred to as NEMA ) and the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Act No. 28 of 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the MPRDA ) will be undertaken. Authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, Act No. 59 of 2008 (hereinafter referred to as NEM:WA ) and the National Water Act, Act No. 36 of 1998 (hereinafter referred to as NWA ) are being undertaken as separate processes and will accordingly not be discussed. 2.1 The Constitution The Constitution reigns supreme and the advancement of human rights is one of the foundations of South Africa s democracy. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights plays a central role in the democratic regime because it embodies a set of fundamental values which should be promoted at all times. One of the fundamental values is contained in Section 24 and is, arguably, the cornerstone for environmental governance in South Africa which includes the mining industry. Section 24(a) proclaims the right of everyone to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being. Mining companies are April 2014 Page 7

28 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application thus duty-bound to constitutional, legislative, and other measures to prevent pollution and ecological degradation, promote conservation and to develop in a sustainable manner. Two particular judgments deserve consideration in that they contain a comprehensive analysis of the nature and content of the environmental right within the sustainability context. Firstly, the court in BP Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd v MEC for Agriculture, Conservation and Land Affairs SA 124 (WLD) confirmed that environmental interests should be balanced with justifiable economic and social development well beyond the interests of the present living generation. The court justified the latter with Section 24(b), since this Section requires the environment to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations. The court confirmed the importance of sustainable development and predicted that it will play a major role in determining important environmental disputes in the future. Furthermore, the court emphasised the importance of progressively realising the protected environmental right by stating that: Pure economic principles will no longer determine, in an unbridled fashion, whether a development is acceptable. Development, which may be regarded as economically and financially sound, will, in future, be balanced by its environmental impact, taking coherent cognisance of the principle of intergenerational equity and sustainable use of resources in order to arrive at an integrated management of the environment, sustainable development and socio-economic concerns. By elevating the environment to a fundamental justiciable human right, South Africa has irreversibly embarked on a road, which will lead to the goal of attaining a protected environment by an integrated approach, which takes into consideration, inter alia, socio-economic concerns and principles. Within this context, the mining industry (and the accompanied social and economic development it should bring with it) is constitutionally bound to uphold the environmental right. The court in Fuel Retailers Association of Southern Africa v Director General: Environmental Management, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Mpumalanga Province SA 4 (CC) attempted to balance these social, environmental and economic concerns by recognising the importance of economic and social development for the well-being of human beings. However, the court emphasised that development and the environment are inexorably linked and development cannot exist upon a weakening environmental base. Consequently, the promotion of development requires the protection of the environment April 2014 Page 8

29 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application The constitutional environmental right elevates the importance of environmental protection and conservation, and emphasises the significance that South Africans attach to a sound and healthy environment. In addition, the environmental right applies horizontally and this implies that the mining industry has to exercise a duty of care if liability, on the basis of the constitutional environmental right, is to be avoided. The constitutional environmental right is given effect to by means of detailed statutory provisions ranging from framework to sectoral legislation which relate to mining. 2.2 Environmental principles Section 2(1) (c) of the NEMA provides that: The principles set out in this section apply throughout the Republic to the actions of all organs of state that may significantly affect the environment and serve as guidelines by reference to which any organ of state must exercise any function when taking any decision in terms of this Act or any statutory provision concerning the protection of the environment Any decision taken in respect of the proposed application for environmental authorization should take into account the principles as set out in Section 2 of NEMA. GCS acknowledge that these principles serve as guiding principles because they are binding, enforceable and justiciable. By adhering to these principles, GCS promotes a cautious approach when advising on the activities, processes and daily operations of Kangra Coal s mining operation and advocates compliance with environmental regulatory measures. The national environmental management principles contained in Section 2 of NEMA is the corner stone of environmental governance and liability in South Africa and is based on the foundation of sustainable development. These principles all apply directly to mines by virtue of Section 37(1) of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Act 28 of 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the MPRDA ) which provides that regard must be had to the NEMA principles by stipulating that the principles set out in Section 2 of NEMA: a) apply to all prospecting and mining operations, as the case may be, and any matter or activity relating to such operation; and b) Serve as a guideline for the interpretation, administration and implementation of the environmental requirements of this Act. Section 37(2) of the MPRDA further provides that: Any prospecting or mining operation must be conducted in accordance with generally accepted principles of sustainable development by integrating social, economic and April 2014 Page 9

30 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application environmental factors into the planning and implementation of prospecting and mining projects in order to ensure that exploitation of mineral resources serves present and future generations. (Own emphasis) By virtue of Section 37(1) of the MPRDA, these principles apply to the mining sector and therefore the mining industry must adopt a risk-averse and cautious approach; prevent negative impacts or effects of their activities on the health and well-being of people and the environment; and pay for all their pollution since they remain liable for the effects of their policies, projects, programmes, products, processes, services or activities throughout their life cycles. When a competent authority takes a decision in terms of NEMA or any other law concerned with environmental protection, the principles must serve as guidelines. More specifically, the principles should guide the interpretation and implementation of the liability regime of NEMA and any other law concerned with environmental protection including mining related legislation. The following principles are particularly important and are discussed below Polluter Pays Principle The polluter pays principle is reflected in the provision that the costs of remedying pollution, environmental degradation and consequent adverse health effects and of preventing, controlling or minimising further pollution, environmental damage or adverse health effects must be paid for by those responsible for harming the environment. In essence, the polluter pays principle means that polluters and users of natural resources (should) bear the full environmental and social costs of their activities. The polluter pays principle can also be described as an economic principle that requires the polluter (the mining industry in this instance) to be held liable to compensate or pay for pollution prevention, minimisation and remediation. Therefore, the crux of the principle is to impose economic obligations when environmental damage is caused by a polluter and this is achieved by setting minimum rules on liability for environmental damage Precautionary Principle The precautionary principle provides guidance during development or when anything occurs which might harm the environment and where there is scientific uncertainty. NEMA stipulates and requires a risk averse and cautious approach to be applied and that decision-makers should take into account the limits of current knowledge about the April 2014 Page 10

31 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application consequences of decisions and actions. This approach is also acknowledged in the White Paper on a Minerals and Mining Policy for South Africa in that: during decision-making a risk averse and cautious approach that recognises the limits of current environmental management expertise will be adopted and where there is uncertainty, action is required to limit the risk. The precautionary principle requires the mining industry to take adequate precautionary measures to safeguard against contamination, pollution or degradation of the environment and where there is uncertainty, the action taken should be to limit the risk to the environment Preventive Principle The preventive principle is reflected in the concept that the disturbance of ecosystems and loss of biological diversity are to be avoided, or minimised and remedied. Furthermore, the principle prescribes that the disturbance of the landscape and the nation s cultural heritage is to be avoided, and where it cannot be altogether avoided, must be minimised and remedied. Any negative impacts on the environment and on people s environmental rights should also be anticipated and prevented, and where they cannot be altogether prevented they should minimised and remedied. The principle aims to minimise environmental damage by requiring that action be taken at an early stage of the process, and if possible, before such damage actually occurs. Broadly stated, it prohibits any activity which causes or may cause damage to the environment in violation of the duty of care established under environmental law. The preventive principle bestows on the mining industry an obligation to take steps to avoid causing certain types of damage to the environment, including the environment beyond their own territory or property Cradle-to-Grave A cradle-to-grave stewardship perspective indicates the adoption of a comprehensive ecological view of the impacts of a process on the environment, commencing with research, development and design through the extraction and use of raw materials, production and processing, storage, distribution and use, to the final disposal of the product and the waste generated as a by-product. The integrated consideration of all the environmental impacts forms part of this cycle. The cradle-to-grave principle advocates liability as a result of, or caused by, policies, programmes, projects, products, processes, services and activities April 2014 Page 11

32 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application Given the general purpose of NEMA, together with the other sustainability principles, this legal liability may include to rectify, remedy or compensate for environmental damage or degradation. The principle also recognises that environmental impacts, pollution or degradation may be associated with the entire life cycle of a mine, that is, from the identification, exploration phase through project planning, implementation, operations and post-operational closure, decommissioning and rehabilitation. Thus, the mining industry will remain liable for the damage or degradation caused by its activities throughout the life cycle of the mining operations until decommissioning and rehabilitation The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) As stated above, NEMA provides for a comprehensive array of principles which cumulatively aim to create among others, corporate socially responsible behaviour by establishing legal liability for environmental damage as well as damage to human health and well-being. Apart from these principles, NEMA also contains mechanisms, procedures and structures to facilitate pollution prevention, minimisation and remediation. Chapter 7 of NEMA contains essential provisions dealing with liability for environmental damage in South Africa and two key elements form part thereof; namely: pollution prevention and remediation. A duty of care is contained in Section 28, which encompasses the main liability provision which applies retrospectively and therefore also to historical pollution. Section 28(1) applies to all forms of pollution, including mining pollution, and is formulated generally by providing a duty of care to avoid, minimise and/or remedy pollution or environmental degradation. In terms of this subsection, the duty imposes liability on an almost non-exhaustive category of persons, because it refers to "every person". Section 28(2) goes even further and imposes the duty on a range of people including owners or people in control of land or premises and people who have the right to use the land or premises on which, or in which, an activity or process is, or was, performed or undertaken, or any other situation exists which causes, or is likely to cause, significant pollution or degradation to the environment. The duty of care imposes strict liability since Section 28(1) requires reasonable persons to take reasonable measures. Subsection (3) provides an indicative range of measures that can be considered as reasonable measures and these may include measures to investigate, assess and evaluate the impact on the environment; inform and educate employees about the environmental risks of their work and the manner in which their tasks must be performed in order to avoid causing significant pollution or degradation, contain or prevent the movement of pollutants or the causing of degradation, eliminate any source of April 2014 Page 12

33 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application the pollution or degradation and remedy the effects of the pollution or degradation. One can identify from the wording an obligation to prevent and minimise pollution or degradation and the list indicates that remediation is clearly part of South African law. Where a mine fails to take reasonable measures to prevent or minimise pollution, it can be directed to do so by the relevant authority and if it does not comply with the directive, measures will be taken by government on its behalf, but at the mine s expense. Under Section 34(7), liability is specifically extended to the director of the mining company concerned in his or her personal capacity, in other words, the director is personally liable. Furthermore, Section 43 provides that if directors failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the offence being committed, and monetary advantage was gained, they may be personally liable for damages or compensation, have to pay a fine, or have to comply with remedial measures determined by the Court, and may even have to pay the State s investigative costs. The latter was confirmed in Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry v Stilfontein Gold Mining Co Ltd and Others SA 333 (W) where the court held, in a telling statement that: To permit mining companies and their directors to flout environmental obligations is contrary to the Constitution, the Mineral Petroleum Development Act and to the National Environmental Management Act. Unless courts are prepared to assist the State by providing suitable mechanisms for the enforcement of statutory obligations an impression will be created that mining companies [and their directors] are free to exploit the mineral resources of the country for profit over the lifetime of the mine, thereafter they may simply walk away from their environmental obligations. This simply cannot be permitted in a constitutional democracy which recognises the right of all of its citizens to be protected from the effects of pollution and degradation The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Section 38 provides a key insight into the MPRDAs environmental liability approach. In terms of this Section, mining companies are required to familiarize themselves of potential environmental impacts; manage any environmental impacts; and rehabilitate the environment in so far as is reasonably possible. Furthermore, Section 38(1) (e) states that such holders, whose mining causes or results in ecological degradation, pollution, or environmental damage that may be harmful to the health or well-being of anyone: is responsible for any environmental damage, pollution or ecological degradation as a result of his or her operations and which may occur inside and outside the boundaries of the area to which such right, permit or permission relates April 2014 Page 13

34 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application These holders will remain responsible for any environmental liability, pollution or ecological degradation and the management thereof until a closure certificate has been issued. Similar to NEMA, the MPRDA specifically extends the widely-framed liability of mines to the director of the mining company concerned in his or her personal capacity, by stating in Section 38(2) the following:...the directors of a company or members of a close corporation are jointly and severally liable; for any unacceptable negative impact on the environment, including damage, degradation or pollution; advertently or inadvertently caused by the company or close corporation which they represent or represented. In general, this provides for a comprehensive liability net which must also be considered in light of NEMAs provisions. According to Section 39, a mine must indicate how it will contain or remedy the cause of pollution or degradation and migration of pollutants and comply with any prescribed waste standards or management practice. Granting of permission to mine or prospect, among others, is conditional on an environmental management programme and plan being submitted and accepted by the relevant government authority. Section 43 is one of the most important provisions as it deals with the responsibility for any environmental liability, pollution or ecological degradation until the issue of the closure certificate. It is important to note that environmental liability will not necessarily cease or fall away by the issuing of a closure certificate. In addition to the broader liability provisions above, Section 45 provides that the relevant authority may direct a mine to undertake remedial measures where:...any prospecting, mining, reconnaissance or production operations cause or results in ecological degradation, pollution or environmental damage which may be harmful to the health or well-being of anyone and requires urgent remedial measures. Where the mine fails to take these measures, the relevant authority will act on its behalf and then recover costs incurred from the mine. If the mine fails to compensate the authority, the latter is empowered to seize and sell the mine s property to recover the costs. The mine will thus remain financially liable for the rehabilitation, even if it chooses to ignore the government directive April 2014 Page 14

35 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Application 2.3 Environmental process The Process in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) Section 24(1) of NEMA requires that the potential consequences for or impacts on the environment of listed activities must be considered, investigated, assessed and reported on to the competent authority. Where environmental impact assessment has been identified as the instrument to be utilised in achieving the aforementioned, an application for environmental authorisation needs to be obtained. The identified activities are listed under GN R544, R545, R546 and R547 of the NEMA Regulations respectively. The listed activities which are triggered by the proposed mine expansion are contained in Listing Notice 1 (GN R544) and Listing Notice 2 (GN R545). Activities contained in Listing Notice 1 require a Basic Assessment (BA) process to be followed whilst activities in Listing Notice 2 require a Scoping and EIR (S&EIR) process to be followed. For the purposes of this application all items under Listing Notice 1 will be addressed in the required EIA process applicable to Listing Notice 2 activities. A consolidated EIA report will be developed for Kangra Coal and submitted to the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (MDEDET), the competent authority, in Ermelo for review and authorisation. S&EIR entail a comprehensive EIA which includes a scoping phase and an EIA phase. In the scoping phase, issues are identified and it includes a plan of study for the EIA. The EIA phase assesses issues identified during the scoping phase and includes an Environmental Management Programme (EMP). The EMP provides information on the proposed activity and the manner in which potential impacts will be minimised or mitigated. This process is required for all listed activities. Table 2-1 provides a description of the S&EIR process followed in respect of the proposed Kangra Coal mining operations April 2014 Page 15

36 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Table 2-1: Description of the S&EIR process in terms of GN R543 in GG of 18 June REGULATION PROVISION PROGRESS DATE Regulation 26 The Applicant or the EAP must complete the application form for environmental authorisation and submit to the competent authority. Regulation 13(2) The competent authority must acknowledge receipt of the application within 14 days of receipt of the application. Regulation 27 After having submitted an application, the EAP managing the application must: Conduct a public participation process; Give notice of the proposed application to any organ of state which has jurisdiction in respect of any aspect of the activity; Open and maintain a register of all interested and affected parties; Consider all comments and representations received from interested and affected parties following the public participation process; Subject the application to scoping prepare a scoping report; Give all registered interested and affected The EIA application form was submitted to MDEDET. 11 May 2012 MDEDET acknowledged receipt of the application and 11 May 2012 granted permission to proceed with the S&EIR. List of authorities consulted The authorities as listed below have been invited to become involved in the process by written and telephonic invitation. National Government Authorities: o Department of Water Affairs (DWA). o Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). Provincial Government Authorities: o The Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (MDEDET) (This being the competent authority administering the EIA process). o Department of Transport, Roads and Public Works April 2014 Page 16

37 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 REGULATION PROVISION PROGRESS DATE parties an opportunity to comment on the scoping report; Submit at least five copies of the scoping report to the competent authority. District Municipalities: o Gert Sibande District Municipality. Local Municipalities: o Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality. o Mkhondo Local Municipality. Other Authorities: o The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA). o The South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA). o Mkhondo Management Forum. o Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA). All I&APs on existing Kangra Coal database were obtained from databases for other Kangra Coal projects. During the consultation with I&APs, as well as with the mine, additional parties will be identified and included within the existing database to provide an updated database. Numerous I&APs will be notified by word of mouth. Parties who respond to April 2014 Page 17

38 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 REGULATION PROVISION PROGRESS DATE the advertisements and notifications will be included in the database. GCS has developed and will maintain an electronic database for the duration of the project where stakeholder details are captured and automatically updated as and when information is received from I&APs. Site notices where place at the Kangra Coal offices, 16 November 2012 on the existing Maquasa East operations, and well as in visible areas around Maquasa West and the Driefontein tribal council offices. One advertisement was placed as per the NEMA 16 November 2012 requirements. An advertisement regarding the project background, the process being followed, and the details and purpose of the PPP were placed in the local newspaper, Excelsior Media, in English and IsiZulu, and the Highvelder in English. Background Information Documents (BID) were sent to 16 November 2012 all I&APs/Stakeholders. All I&APs were notified by way of fax, or letter, depending on their preferred method of contact. The BID was compiled in English and IsiZulu and it included details of the April 2014 Page 18

39 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 REGULATION PROVISION PROGRESS DATE Regulation 29 The EAP managing an application must submit 5 Regulation 30 copies of the scoping report to the competent authority. The competent authority must, within 30 days of receipt of a scoping report, or receipt of the required information, reports, or comments or the amended proposed project, the EIA process and the requirements of the NEMA. The BID also includes relevant contact details and a comment/registration sheet for I&APs to complete. I&APs are invited to register and send responses by fax, telephone or to GCS. Public meeting Public Meeting 1: 04 December 2012 Public Meeting 2: 05 December 2012 The Draft Scoping Report was made available for 06 December 2012 review by I&APs for a minimum 30 day period and all to 01 February registered I&APs were informed of the report s 2013 availability, CD s were provided to I&APs who required copies, the Scoping Report was also submitted to authorities for comment. Two Copies of the Final Scoping Report as requested 22 February 2013 by the competent authority were submitted. Acknowledgment of receipt of the Final Scoping 26 March 2013 Report was received within 14 days of the submission. Within 30 Days the MDEDET accepted the Scoping April 2014 Page 19

40 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 REGULATION PROVISION PROGRESS DATE scoping report, consider it, and in writing: Accept the report and advise the EAP to proceed with the tasks contemplated in the plan of study for EIA; Request the EAP to make such amendments to the report as the competent authority may require; or Reject the scoping report. Regulation 31 If a competent authority accepts a scoping report and advises the EAP to proceed with the tasks contemplated In the plan of study for environmental impact assessment, the EAP must proceed with those tasks, including the public participation process for EIA and prepare an EIA report in respect of the proposed activities. Regulation 34(1) The EAP managing an application must submit the draft EIA report to the competent authority. Report and Plan of Study for EIA. The EIA public participation commenced with the 05 April 2013 advertisement of the Public meeting and open day. The adverts also included the date and venues for the review of the draft EIA Report and EMP. The Draft EIA Report and EMP were made available 24 April 2013 to 5 for review by I&APs for a 40 day period and all June 2013 registered I&APs were informed of the report s availability, CD s were provided to I&APs who required copies, the Scoping Report was also submitted to authorities for comment April 2014 Page 20

41 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 REGULATION PROVISION PROGRESS DATE Regulation 34(2) The competent authority must, within 60 days of receipt of an EIA report: Accept the report; or Reject the report. Regulation 34(4) An EIA report that is rejected in terms of Regulation 34(2) may be amended and resubmitted by the EAP. Two hard copies and one electronic copy of the Final To be confirmed EIA Report and EMP as requested by the competent authority were submitted. To be confirmed April 2014 Page 21

42 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section The Process in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act The consolidation of all the existing Kangra Coal EMPs, as well as the inclusion of the proposed new additional mining areas will be undertaken in terms of Section 102 of the MPRDA. A consolidated EMP report will be developed for Kangra Coal and submitted to the DMR, the competent authority in Witbank, for review and authorisation. The EMP describes the goals and objectives for environmental management to minimize or eliminate the potential negative environmental impacts that will result from the various activities taking place on the proposed mining expansion areas. The EMP further provides action plans to bring effect to the goals and objectives identified for Kangra Coal, the procedures to be implemented to ensure integration of environmental management into the daily operations of the proposed project expansion, as well as a plan to raise awareness among employees and the surrounding community with regards to environmental management of the entire mining operation. 2.4 Environmental Assessment Practitioner In terms of Section 17 of the NEMA, the applicant has to appoint Environmental Assessment Practitioners (EAPs) before applying for an environmental authorisation of any activity listed in terms of GN 544 and 545. For this purpose Kangra Coal has appointed GCS (Pty) Ltd (GCS) to undertake the necessary environmental assessments and to ensure that all legislative requirements are adhered to as part of the environmental authorisation processes. Refer to Appendix B for the GCS Company Profile. Table 2-2: Details of the EAP. NAME OF THE EAP GCS (Pty) Ltd CONTACT PERSON Ms. Renee Janse van Rensburg PHYSICAL ADDRESS 63 Wessel Road Rivonia 2128 POSTAL ADDRESS P.O. Box 2597 Rivonia reneejvr@gcs-sa.biz TELEPHONE NUMBER April 2014 Page 22

43 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 GCS provides a professional, independent consulting service in the fields of water, environmental, engineering and earth sciences. The GCS team consists of highly trained staff that has extensive experience in the fields of geohydrology, hydrology, pedology, engineering geology, engineering and environmental science. GCS have considerable experience in Southern Africa and undertake investigations for environmental assessments. The environmental scientists carry out all aspects of environmental assessments and management programmes. GCS was founded in 1987 and the broad GCS client base ranges from individuals, engineers, municipalities and mines, to Independent States and Governments. GCS is an independent practice, which is wholly owned by the partners of the company. GCS is an independent environmental consulting firm and has undertaken the EIA/EMP Report development. GCS is also responsible for the updated Public Participation Process (PPP) (Section 6, and Appendix C) pertaining to the proposed operation. GCS is fully BEE compliant with an empowerment scorecard rating of Reporting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) The EIA portion of the report must determine the nature, extent, duration, probability, significance and status of the environmental, social and cultural impacts of the project, the assessment of reasonable alternatives and the required mitigation measures for each impact during the life of the mine. An EIA report must contain all information that is necessary for the competent authority to consider the application and to reach a decision regarding the project. The EIA must therefore include the following (as per GN 543 of NEMA): a) Details of i. The EAP who compiled the report; ii. The expertise of the EAP to carry out an environmental impact assessment. b) A detailed description of the proposed activity; c) A description of the property on which the activity is to be undertaken and the location of the activity on the property, or if it is - i. A linear activity, a description of the route of the activity; or April 2014 Page 23

44 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 ii. An ocean-based activity, the coordinates where the activity is to be undertaken; d) A description of the environment that may be affected by the activity and the manner in which the physical, biological, social, economic and cultural aspects of the environment may be affected by the proposed activity; e) Details of the public participation process conducted in terms of sub-regulation (I), including - i. Steps undertaken in accordance with the plan of study; ii. A list of persons, organisations and organs of state that were registered as interested and affected parties; iii. A summary of comments received from, and a summary of issues raised by registered interested and affected parties, the date of receipt of these comments and the response of the EAP to those comments; and iv. Copies of any representations, objections and comments received from registered interested and affected parties; f) A description of the need and desirability of the proposed activity and identified potential alternatives to the proposed activity, including advantages and disadvantages that the proposed activity or alternatives may have on the environment and the community that may be affected by the activity; g) An indication of the methodology used in determining the significance of potential environmental impacts; h) A description and comparative assessment of all alternatives identified during the environmental impact assessment process; i) A summary of the findings and recommendations of any specialist report or report on a specialised process; j) A description of all environmental issues that were identified during the environmental impact assessment process, an assessment of the significance of each issue and an indication of the extent to which the issue could be addressed by the adoption of mitigation measures; k) An assessment of each identified potentially significant impact, including - i. Cumulative impacts; ii. The nature of the impact; iii. The extent and duration of the impact; iv. The probability of the impact occurring; v. The degree to which the impact can be reversed; vi. The degree to which the impact may cause irreplaceable loss of resources; and vii. The degree to which the impact can be mitigated April 2014 Page 24

45 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 l) A description of any assumptions, uncertainties and gaps in knowledge; m) An opinion as to whether the activity should or should not be authorised, and if the opinion is that it should be authorised, any conditions that should be made in respect of that authorisation; n) An environmental impact statement which contains - i. A summary of the key findings of the environmental impact assessment; and ii. A comparative assessment of the positive and negative implications of the proposed activity and identified alternatives; o) A draft environmental management plan that complies with Regulation 33; p) Copies of any specialist reports and reports on specialised processes complying with Regulation 32; and q) Any specific information that may be required by the competent authority. It is the role of the relevant environmental authorities to make a decision on whether the project should proceed or not, based on the information provided in the EIA, and this report therefore cannot make a recommendation on whether the project should proceed or not Environmental Management Programme (EMP) Each specialist was required to identify means of avoiding, mitigating and/or managing the negative impacts in his/her particular aspect of the investigation. The recommended management strategies are synthesised in this report by GCS to formulate the EMP for the proposed listed activities and the operation as a whole. Management strategies are based on extensive knowledge within GCS and the specialists commissioned by GCS. The management measures will be incorporated into the mine systems to avoid, or appropriately manage impacts from the outset. A draft environmental management plan must include - a) Details of - i. The person who prepared the environmental management programme; and ii. The expertise of that person to prepare an environmental management programme. b) Information on any proposed management or mitigation measures that will be taken to address the environmental impacts that have been identified in a report contemplated by these Regulations, including environmental impacts or objectives in respect of - i. Planning and design; April 2014 Page 25

46 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 ii. Pre-construction and construction activities; iii. Operation or undertaking of the activity; iv. Rehabilitation of the environment; and v. Closure, where relevant. c) A detailed description of the aspects of the activity that are covered by the draft environmental management programme; d) An identification of the persons who will be responsible for the implementation of the measures contemplated in paragraph (b); e) Where appropriate, time periods within which the measures contemplated in the draft environmental management programme must be implemented; and f) Proposed mechanisms for monitoring compliance with the environmental management programme and reporting thereon. The EIA ensures that the needs of the environment (biophysical and socio-economic) are identified. The EMP in turn provides a tool for meeting the objective to reduce or avoid negative environmental impacts associated with a project within a certain environment by providing detailed mitigation measures and management commitments. All of these sections (i.e. EIA/EMP) will become legally binding on the approval of this report Reporting Structure (EIA/EMP) The EIA/EMP Report has been compiled to identify the impacts associated with the mining activities and to determine the management measures that need to be implemented. The structure of the report is based on that of a complete EIA/EMP Report and contains the following sections: Chapter 1: Background and Introduction This chapter provides a description of the location and the land ownership of the mine, as well as the purpose, approach and methodology followed for the completion of this project. Chapter 2: Legal Background This chapter provides the legal context within which the EIA/EMP was developed. Chapter 3: Detailed Project Description This chapter provides a detailed description of the proposed project and how it is planned to be initiated and operated should the environmental investigations be sufficient and thereby approved. Chapter 4: Project Alternatives April 2014 Page 26

47 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 This chapter details the project alternatives considered for the project and conducts a comparative assessment to indicate why the final option was selected (if required). Chapter 5: Detailed Environmental Description This chapter provides a description of the current environment (which includes the bio-physical and socio-economic components) prior to the commencement of the proposed project. Chapter 6: Public Participation Process This chapter details the process undertaken for stakeholder engagement and provides a discussion on the issues raised and how these will be addressed. Chapter 7: Identification and Assessment of Environmental Impacts (EIA) and Issues with Management Measures and Action Plans (EMP) This chapter outlines the activities of the proposed project and accordingly, the activities the environmental objectives for each stage were identified. In addition this chapter assesses and rates the potential impacts on the environment, prior to the consideration of mitigation measures, as well as the potential impacts after the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures. This chapter also details the required management measures to be implemented during the construction, operational, decommissioning and closure phases. Chapter 8: Monitoring Management Programme This chapter indicates the monitoring and management measures of environmental impacts (i.e. surface water monitoring, groundwater monitoring, air quality monitoring etc.) for the way forward should this project be approved. Chapter 9: Environmental Emergency Response Plan and Environmental Awareness Plan This chapter details procedures for environmental related emergencies and remediation measures and the details for an environmental awareness plan. Chapter 10: Financial Provision This chapter details the financial provision required for the project. Chapter 11: Environmental Rehabilitation Programme This chapter details a proposed rehabilitation plan for the project. Chapter 12: Identification of Gaps This chapter serves to indicate which gaps have been identified and how these should be addressed. Chapter 13: Conclusion The conclusion provides a brief discussion on the findings in the report. Appendices: All supporting documentation is provided in this section April 2014 Page 27

48 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3.1 Regional Setting Magisterial District and Relevant Regional Services Council The mining and processing areas fall within the jurisdiction of the Pixley Ka Seme, Mkhondo and Wakkerstroom Local Councils (Figure 3-1) and under administration of the Mpumalanga Regional Services Council (Witbank) Neighbouring Towns The combined mining rights area (hereafter referred to as the Mining area) is located approximately 2.5 km North of Dirkiesdorp and 40 km West of Piet Retief. Figure 3-1: Neighbouring Towns. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) 3.2 Surface Infrastructure The turn-off to the mine is located on the main road between Ermelo and Piet Retief (N2), 25 km from Piet Retief and 55 km from Ermelo. From the turn-off from the R29 onto the April 2014 Page 28

49 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 gravel road that passes through the Driefontein Community, it is a further 5 km to the Maquasa East plant area. The Maquasa West reserves are located approximately 3 km from the plant area. To the South of the mine area, the road from Piet Retief to Wakkerstroom (R543) past Dirkiesdorp is located. A provincial gravel road, connecting Dirkiesdorp to the Driefontein community passes through the site. The existing surface infrastructure at the Maquasa East plant is used for the beneficiation of the coal mined at Maquasa West and East operations (Figure 3-2). Figure 3-2: Infrastructure. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) Power lines A 22 Kv Eskom power line supplies the existing Maquasa East Plant and the associated infrastructure. This source of energy further serves the Maquasa West operations (including all adits and offices) Railway lines The Richards Bay railway line runs parallel to the N2 between Piet Retief and Ermelo. The April 2014 Page 29

50 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 railway line does not cross any part of the mining rights area Pipelines There are no pipelines within the mining rights area 3.3 Presence Of Servitudes An Eskom servitude traverses the Eastern portions of the Mining area. The only other servitude registered on the mining rights area is the road servitude associated with the provincial gravel road, which cuts across the property 3.4 Land Tenure And Use Of Adjacent Land The Driefontein community is located approximately 5 km East of the Maquasa East operations (and associated plant) on the farm Driefontein 388 IT. The farms Donkerhoek 14HT and Kransbank 15HT were recently purchased by the Government for the Driefontein community. A large portion of the surrounding land belongs to the mine and is used for grazing purposes by local farmers. The Heyshope dam is located to the East of the mining rights area, while large portions to the West and North of the area are utilised for agricultural purposes. The area directly North of the mining operations is owned by Kangra and is known as the Kusipongo area (not included as part of the Section 102 application). 3.5 River Catchment The mine is situated on the divide between the Hlelo and the Assegaai Tertiary catchments, which both form part of the secondary Usutu River System. This catchment falls within the Primary Drainage Region W or Water Management Area 6 (as delineated by the DWA, 2000). The mining site drains to the Heyshope Dam, which forms part of the Assegai River Catchment and the larger Usutu Catchment Area. 3.6 Description Of The Mining Operations April 2014 Page 30

51 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section Mineral Deposit The coal is situated within the mountain range located at the Western end of the Maquasa 19HT. The depth of the coal varies from an outcrop on the Northern and Eastern flanks to a depth of 240 m on the Southern side. The geology of the area consists of sedimentary lithologies of the Vryheid Formation of the Ecca Group. The formation is characterised by thick beds of yellow-white cross-bedded sandstone and grit, which alternate with beds of soft, dark grey, sandy shale. The coal is located on the Western side of the farms Maquasa 19HT, under the mountain range Mine Product The anthracite and bituminous coal have been mined utilizing the opencast roll-over method. Underground mining make use of the conventional board and pillar method to extract the coal Estimated Reserves Mining will take place at a rate of tons of coal per month with an estimated life of mine of 5-6 years Mining Method Opencast Mining The opencast mining method is conventional opencast strip mining and the roll-over mining method (Figure 3-3), with rehabilitation on an ongoing basis. The roll-over method implies that the overburden is stripped from the initial cut and thereafter stockpiled. However, with each successive cut taken, the overburden/soils stripped will be used to backfill and top dress the previous cut. In this way, the soils can be replaced from where it was removed in order to minimize the environmental impact of such removal. The overburden/soils that are stripped and stockpiled for use in the final void will need to be protected against wind and water erosion (drainage), as well as any compaction. This will be done through the re-vegetation of the stockpiles April 2014 Page 31

52 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Figure 3-3: Roll- over mining method. Underground Mining Underground mining is conducted using conventional board-and-pillar layouts with checker board stooping. Checker board stooping is the removal of every second pillar as to leave a checker board effect after stooping and still allows for the roof to be stable and not collapse. Entry to the coal reserves is achieved via adits, which included the infrastructure April 2014 Page 32

53 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 such as a lamp room; change house; workshop; small site office; luffing and slewing conveyor and coal loading area. A haulage road (as part of the internal road network) has been constructed from the adit to the main gravel road. At the Western operations, The Gus and Dundas adits were excavated first and have been left open for access to the underground reserves. Topsoil was stripped to a depth of 60cm and stockpiled separately from the overburden material. The soft material was stripped and hauled to demarcated stockpile areas. Thereafter the hard rock was drilled and blasted and the material hauled to the stockpile areas. The coal is transported by Maquasa West loading bins from where it is transported via the existing conveyor system to the Maquasa East plant. From the first cut after the box-cut, as much overburden as possible is pushed over into the previous cut by bulldozer. The balance is hauled by truck. Rehabilitation by semi-leveling the previous cuts must take place on a continuous basis and may never be more than three cuts behind Processing and Supply In July 2000, Savmore Colliery took over the management of Taaiboschspruit Colliery. The Maquasa East shaft provided 160,000 tons of coal per month. The coal was processed at the Taaiboshspruit plant, which is located approximately 25 km to the North of the mining area. From there the coal is transported to the Panbult siding, which is 15 km to the East of the Taaiboshspruit plant. This plant is no longer in use and all coal produced within the mining rights area is beneficiated on site at the Maquasa East Plant which comprises of primary crushing and screening, coarse and fine Dense Medium Separation (DMS) cyclones, spirals and product crushing. The processed coal from Maquasa East plant is then transported to the Panbult siding. 3.7 Existing Infrastructure and Operations Kangra Coal has approved EMPs for its Maquasa West, Maquasa East and Nooitgesien mining areas. Currently operations are active at Maquasa West, Maquasa East and Nooitgesien. An existing coal washing plant is located at Maquasa East and the plant is used for processing of all coal from Maquasa East, Maquasa West, and Nooitgesien. All project related infrastructure is located at Maquasa East where all the coal mined from the various mining areas is processed April 2014 Page 33

54 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 The following infrastructure is currently established on site and has been approved through various application processes under the NEMA and the MPRDA, where applicable: Underground mining operations; Opencast mining operations; Conveyors and associated service roads; Power lines and associated service roads; Access roads; Haul roads; Crushers; Washing and screening plant; Overburden and stockpile (i.e. topsoil, run of mine ore, product) dumps; Paste disposal facility; Rock discard dump; Offices, workshops and ancillary buildings; Diesel storage; and Borrow pits. 3.8 Proposed Mining Development Kangra Coal intends to expand their mining operations by establishing six (6) new opencast pits, two (2) underground mining areas, four (4) discard dumps and expanding four (4) existing opencast pits as follows: The addition of two (2) new opencast resource pits at Maquasa East (Pit A and D); The expansion of four (4) opencast resource pits at Maquasa West (Pit A, B, C and D); The addition of four (4) new opencast resource pits at Nooitgesien (Pit E, F, G and H); The addition of two (2) underground resource areas at Nooitgesien; and The addition of four (4) waste rock discard dumps at Nooitgesien (Dump 1, 2, 3 and 4). Temporary above ground Diesel Storage exceeding 500 cubic metres. Storm Water Management Plan for the entire mining operations Two of the opencast pits will be established at the existing Maquasa East operations and coal will be hauled by trucks from the proposed pits to the existing coal washing plant at Maquasa East. Four opencast pits will be located at the Nooitgesien area and the coal from these pits will be transported to the Maquasa East coal washing plant via a conveyor April 2014 Page 34

55 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 system. Four new waste rock discard dumps will be located at the Nooitgesien operations in order to service the new opencast pits as well as the proposed new underground areas. Furthermore, after due consideration in the Scoping Phase Kangra Coal has also proposed the extension of the opencast pits at Maquasa West resulting in four opencast pits resulting. The life of mine of the proposed expansion operations is envisaged at approximately five (5) years. The life of mine has been determined by the availability of the coal resource that can still be mined within the mining right area. The mine is currently looking at other options and areas where the coal resource is available in the greater project area in an attempt to extend the life of mine of the operations further. A brief description of the location of each opencast pit and underground area is discussed in the sections that follow (Section Section 3.8.4) Proposed Expansion of the Maquasa East Operations Kangra Coal is proposing to expand the Maquasa East operations with the addition of two (2) new opencast pits (Figure 3-4). The entire discard produced at the existing Maquasa East operations and the proposed new opencast pits will be transported to the existing discard dump at Maquasa East. All coal mined at Maquasa East will be transported via trucks to the coal washing plant at Maquasa East April 2014 Page 35

56 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Figure 3-4: Proposed Expansion of the Maquasa East Operations. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) Proposed Opencast Pit A The proposed pit is located to the south west of the current Maquasa East coal washing plant on the farm Roodekraal 21HT (27 0'39.53"S; 30 23'56.59"E) and Maquasa 19HT. The pit will be approximately ha in extent. The Heyshope Dam is located to the south of this proposed pit. The pit is bordered by a small drainage stream on the southern boundary, where the coal seam ends. The existing conveyor system is located on the northern boundary of the proposed pit Proposed Opencast Pit B The proposed pit is located to the south east of the current Maquasa East coal washing plant on the farm Roodekraal 21HT (27 0'42.43"S; 30 25'09.64"E). The pit approximately is ha in extent. The Heyshope Dam is located to the south of this proposed pit. There is a small transmission power line within the vicinity of the proposed pit. The pit has since been removed from the proposed layout due to its close proximity to the Heyshope dam. The pit is however still a viable resource and may be considered in future operations April 2014 Page 36

57 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section Proposed Opencast Pit C The proposed pit is located in close proximity to the northern boundary of the Kangra Coal mining area, north east of the current Maquasa East coal washing plant on the farm Roodekraal 21HT (27 00'49.66"S; 30 24'32.64"E). The pit is approximately ha in extent. The Driefontein settlement is within 500 m of the proposed pit. The existing mine discard dump is located on the western boundary of the proposed pit. The pit has since been removed from the proposed layout due to its close proximity to the Driefontein settlement. The pit is however still a viable resource and may be considered in future operations Proposed Opencast Pit D The proposed pit is located to the north west of the current Maquasa East coal washing plant on the farm Rooikop 18HT (27 00'51.41"S; 30 23'24.41"E) and Roodekraal 21HT. The pit is approximately ha in extent. There are two streams bordering the proposed pit to the north and south and the current vegetation is characterised by scatted trees. There is a previously disturbed area (old excavations) approximately 150 m from the proposed pit Proposed Expansion of the Maquasa West Operations Kangra Coal is proposing to extend their existing opencast operations at Maquasa West resulting in four (4) opencast pits being developed and mined (Figure 3-5). The two existing pits at Maquasa West (A and C) will be expanded, whilst pits B and D are proposed new opencast pits. The entire discard produced at the existing Maquasa West operations and the proposed new opencast pits will be transported to the existing discard dump at Maquasa East. All coal mined at Maquasa West will be transported via the existing conveyor route to the coal washing plant at Maquasa East Proposed Expansion of Opencast Pit A The existing pit is located on the southern end of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit area on the farm Maquasa 19HT (27 01'48.33"S; 30 22'41.04"E). The pit is approximately ha in extent. The southern pit (which has not yet been fully mined) will be extended in a north easterly direction towards the existing conveyor route. The pit is located on the north western boundary of the mining right area, adjacent to an existing access road. The pit lies in close proximity to an existing overburden stockpile April 2014 Page 37

58 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Figure 3-5: Proposed Expansion of the Nooitgesien Operations. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) Proposed Opencast Pit B The proposed pit is located towards the west of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Maquasa 19HT (27 01'27.13"S; 30 22'19.44"E). The pit is approximately 8.04 ha in extent. The pit is located on the north western boundary of the mining right area, adjacent to an existing road Proposed Expansion of Opencast Pit C The existing pit is located on the northern side of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Maquasa 19HT (27 01'27.13"S; 30 22'19.44"E) and Rooikop 18HT. The pit is approximately ha in extent. The southern pit (which has not yet been fully mined) will be extended in a north easterly direction towards the existing conveyor route. The pit is located on the north western boundary of the mining right area, adjacent to an existing access road. The pit lies in close proximity to an existing overburden stockpile April 2014 Page 38

59 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section Proposed Opencast Pit D The proposed pit is located towards the north west of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Rooikop 18HT (26 59'48.52"S; 30 19'41.82"E). The pit is approximately ha in extent. The pit is located on the north western boundary of the mine area, adjacent to an existing road Proposed Expansion of the Nooitgesien Operations Kangra Coal is proposing to expand the Nooitgesien operations with the addition of four (4) new opencast pits (Figure 3-5). An additional expansion at Nooitgesien is related to two (2) potential underground resource areas that will be accessed from the highwall of the proposed opencast pits on the western side of the area. The entire discard produced at the proposed Nooitgesien opencast operations will be transported to four (4) proposed rock discard dumps in the Nooitgesien area. Stockpile areas and a proposed pollution control dam will be required at Nooitgesien as there is no infrastructure of this kind currently in the area. The pollution control dam will be included in an Integrated Water Use License Application (IWULA) and Integrated Water and Waste management Plan (IWWMP) which is currently being developed for the entire project area Proposed Opencast Pit E The proposed pit is located towards the north west of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Rooikop 18HT (27 00'14.41"S; 30 20'57.89"E). The pit is approximately ha in extent. It is North West of the existing conveyor belt. No other infrastructure exists in this project area Proposed Opencast Pit F The proposed pit is located towards the north west of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Rooikop 18HT (coordinates 27 00'38.12"S; 30 20'56.59"E). The pit is approximately ha in extent. It is North West of the existing conveyor belt and there is a fire break that borders the pit on the western boundary. There are two drainage streams running on the eastern and western boundaries of the pit April 2014 Page 39

60 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section Proposed Opencast Pit G The proposed pit is located towards the north west of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Nooitgesien 381IT (coordinates 27 00'17.97"S; 30 19'57.08"E) and Rooikop 18HT. The pit is approximately ha in extent. There is a fire break on the eastern boundary of the pit. This will be largest pit of all the proposed opencast pits and it estimated that this pit alone will yield four (4) million tons of coal Proposed Opencast Pit H The proposed pit is located towards the north west of the existing Maquasa West opencast southern pit on the farm Nooitgesien 381IT (coordinates 26 59'48.52"S; 30 19'41.82"E). The pit is approximately ha in extent. The pit is located on the north western boundary of the mining right area, adjacent to an existing road. Beyond this boundary is an old mine which has ceased operations, the mine does not belong Kangra Coal and is outside of the mining boundary for Kangra Coal. This proposed pit is estimated to yield approximately one (1) million tons of coal Proposed Underground Mining The two (2) proposed underground mining areas are adjacent to the proposed opencast pits G and H on the farm Nooitgesien 381IT (Figure 3-5). The coal seam is deeper in these areas and can therefore not be accessed via opencast mining methods. The coal reserve can, however, be successfully accessed by underground mining methods through the highwall of the proposed opencast pits G and H. The coal that is mined via underground mining methods will be transported along the extended conveyor system to the Maquasa East coal washing plant for processing. The underground mining method of both coal seams (namely Gus and Dundas) will be conducted using the bord and pillar mining method by means of a continuous miner, shuttle cars and/or conveyor belt system. The seams are superimposed with a ± 10 m parting. With the addition of the new underground areas the life of mine will be increased by one (1) year Proposed Waste Rock Discard Dumps A total of four (4) new waste rock discard dumps will be developed for each of the proposed opencast pits at the Nooitgesien operations and will be located on the farms Rooikop 18KT and Nooitgesien 381IT (Figure 3-5). The waste rock discard dumps will be located adjacent to each pit and will service the opencast pits, as well as the two (2) April 2014 Page 40

61 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 proposed underground areas. The approximate extents of the dumps are detailed in Table 3-1. Table 3-1: Extent and location of the Proposed Discard dumps. APPROXIMATE DUMP EXTENT CO-ORDINATES ha 27 00'2.55"S, 30 20'53.17"E ha 27 00'23.59"S, 30 20'37.36"E ha 27 00'9.39"S, 30 20'16.60"E ha 26 59'59.15"S, 30 20'5.12"E Proposed Access/Haul Roads A total of 13 roads are required for the proposed expansion operations (Figure 3-6). Existing haul roads in the project area will be used as far as is practicable for the life of mine. Where not possible, all existing roads will be upgraded or new roads will be constructed. See ( Table 3-2). The width of all the roads will be in line with the NEMA regulations. None of the roads will be paved; they will all remain gravel roads. Figure 3-6: Proposed Roads Required. (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) April 2014 Page 41

62 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Table 3-2: Details of the proposed roads required in the Expansion Areas. ROAD DESCRIPTION ACTION APPROXIMATE LENGTH 1 Runs from Pit D (Maquasa West) to Upgrade 2 km Dump 3 (Nooitgesien) 2 Runs from Pit D (Maquasa West) to Upgrade 3.6 km Pit G1 (Nooitgesien) 3 Runs from Pit D (Maquasa East) to New road 2.2 km the existing Road north of Dump 4 (Nooitgesien) 4 Runs from the point at which the Upgrade 2.2 km new conveyor route starts (red line) to the existing Road north of Dump 4 (Nooitgesien) 5 Runs from Road 3 (Nooitgesien) to New road 2.6 km the Pit G2 (Nooitgesien) 6 Runs from Pit D (Maquasa West) to Upgrade 2.2 km Road 8 7 Runs from Pit C (Maquasa West) Upgrade 2.7 km through Pit A (Maquasa West) to Road 8 8 Runs from Pit A (Maquasa West) Upgrade 1.8 km joining Road 7, 6 and 3 through Pit D (Maquasa East). 9 Runs from Road 4 where the Upgrade 3.9 km conveyor starts adjacent to the conveyor to the existing road on the South. 10 Portion of the main road on the South that joins MW and ME from Road 9 to 11. Upgrade 4.6 km 11 Runs from the junction of Road 3 and 10 around pit C (Maquasa East) back to Road Runs from Road 11 to existing main road on the north (Road 13) 13 Runs from Road 11 and to Pit G2 (Maquasa West) The road will be 3.2 km upgraded and diverted to accommodate the proposed Pit C New road 3.1 km Upgrade 6 km April 2014 Page 42

63 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section Diesel Storage Temporary Diesel storage will be required for the project during the construction phase to service all machinery and vehicles. The Diesel will be stored above ground and the combined capacity of the Diesel tanks may exceed 500 cubic metres. For the operation of the mine the existing Diesel infrastructure will be used Storm water Management System, Storm water Dams and Pollution Dams A Storm water Management Plan is currently being developed for the mine to include all existing operations and the proposed expansions. The plan will be completed on the Integrated Water Use License (IWULA) has been compiled. The number of dams required for the new operations and the specifications will form part of the IWULA Beneficiation Mineral processing takes place at the existing washing plant on the Eastern portions of the Mining area. Consideration was given to the establishment of a new plant on the Western portions of the Mining area but this would have resulted in the disturbance of a far larger area. The existing Maquasa East washing plant is fed by the existing conveyor. No alternatives are feasible in terms of mineral processing and transport. Coal will be transported via the overland conveyor and mineral processing will take place at the existing Maquasa East plant as these prove more economically viable and reduce additional expenses. Run of Mine (ROM) coal from the mining operations located on the Western portions of the site is conveyed to the washing plant via an overland conveyor belt. The plant consists of a primary crushing circuit designed to screen 1,000 t/h of minus 150 mm ROM feed. The ROM stockpile feed into a secondary double roll crusher, which has been designed to screen and crush 600 t/h. The screen first separates the 75 mm undersize from the oversize, which is fed to the secondary crusher for sizing to form a 75 mm product. The crusher product and undersize streams are then conveyed as plant feed to a 150 t surge bin. From the surge bin the coal is conveyed to a de-sliming screen or pre-wet screen. This de-sliming screen has been designed to wash the 0.5 mm dust off the coal before it is fed to the dense medium cyclone. The two cyclone circuits have been designed to collectively produce t/h of washed coal. Two product streams are formed from the two cyclone circuits, a duff product (-10 mm) and a coarser product (+10 mm to 50 mm). From the cyclones the stone April 2014 Page 43

64 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 waste stream and the two product streams are passed to a drain and rinse system. In the drain and rinse system, the magnetite is washed and drained off coal. The coal discard will typically be left containing approximately 0.3 kg/ton magnetite after the drain and screen process. The final product is delivered as the 10 mm duff to 75 mm coarser product. The coarser product is then screened in a product screen to form to size products, +30 mm to 50mm and +10mm to 30mm. The three coal product streams are fed into storage bins for haulage Domestic and Industrial Waste The existing disposal facilities at the Maquasa East site have been used to date Housing Some of the workers stay within the Driefontein Community and others in Piet Retief, Ermelo and Kwa-Ngema April 2014 Page 44

65 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section PROJECT ALTERNATIVES In terms of the NEMA EIA Regulations, one of the criteria to be taken into account by the competent authority when considering an application is any feasible and reasonable alternatives to the activity which is the subject of the application and any feasible and reasonable modifications or changes to the activity that may minimise harm to the environment. Alternatives are defined in the Regulations as different means of meeting the general purpose and requirements of the activity. It is therefore necessary to provide a description of the need and desirability of the proposed activity and any identified alternatives to the proposed activity that are feasible and reasonable, including the advantages and disadvantages that the proposed activity or alternatives will have on the environment and on the community that may be affected by the activity. The NEMA regulations require that alternatives be considered. The consideration of these alternatives also requires that the No Go option be included. 4.1 The Proposed Property Where the Activity will Occur Kangra Coal conducted prospecting activities in order to locate all potential coal resources and identify ideal mining areas for Kangra Coal to pursue. After this extensive process the proposed locations for the opencast pits and underground mining areas were selected. Significant coal resources exist throughout the Maquasa East, Maquasa West and Nooitgesien areas, however not all of this coal can be viably mined by Kangra Coal due to commercial and environmental constraints. Significant coal resources exist under and in the immediate proximity of the Heyshope Dam. These coal resources are currently being excluded from the potential coal reserve identified as viable to mine by Kangra Coal due to the numerous environmental sensitivities associated therewith and the potential engineering constraints applicable thereto. Based on the prospecting activities Kangra Coal selected the areas identified in Figure 1-1 as the most viable areas for mining. These occur on the farms Roodekraal 21HT, Maquasa 19HTand Nooitgesien 381IT. The establishment waste rock dumps location is based on servicing each of the opencast pits on the farm Nooitgesien 381IT, therefore the location cannot be altered. Concurrent rehabilitation of the pits will take place and the mine cannot transport from a distance to the pits April 2014 Page 45

66 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Due to the nature of mining operations, mining can only take place where an identified resource exists. Thus the location of the proposed opencast pits and underground resource areas cannot be relocated to other farms. 4.2 The Type of Activity to be Undertaken Kangra Coal is a company that identifies viable coal reserves and, following obtaining approval, mines the identified coal resource. Kangra Coal identifies viable coal resources during geological exploration exercises of various farms, in this case those farms occur within an approved mining right area. Based on Kangra Coal being a coal mining company the type of activity cannot be changed from mining to another activity. 4.3 The Operational Aspects of the Activity Various operational aspects can be considered for this application and each will be assessed in the following sections Type of Mining Implemented Two alternatives exist for the type of mining to be undertaken, namely opencast or underground mining Opencast Mining After thorough studies Kangra Coal has determined that although coal is present on various properties within its approved mining right area, much of this coal is too shallow to access via underground mining methods. When coal resources are less than 500 m below surface, it is preferable to mine them via opencast mining methods in order to avoid risks such as surface subsidence If this coal was to be mined via underground methods safety and environmental risks and concerns may arise which may be difficult to mitigate, such as surface subsidence. The majority of the coal resources found on the farms identified (Figure 1-1) are less than 500 m below surface, leading Kangra Coal to explore the option of mining these resources via opencast methods as opposed to underground mining methods. Opencast mining will be undertaken by truck and shovel mining, with the coal being transported to the coal washing plant at Maquasa East April 2014 Page 46

67 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Based on the above description the use of underground mining for the resources that have been identified as being less than 500 m below surface is not viable Underground Mining Despite the above-mentioned observations regarding the use of opencast mining to access the coal in the identified shallower coal reserves, some of the viable coal reserves are not close enough to the surface to mine via opencast methods. As a result of this, underground mining methods are deemed more effective to access the identified deeper coal reserves. As stated previously, when coal resources are less than 500 m below surface, it is preferable to mine them via opencast mining methods in order to avoid environmental and safety risks and concerns. Reserves that are found beyond these levels (i.e. deeper than 500 m) are therefore viable for mining via underground mining methods, as is proposed for the two identified underground resource areas at Nooitgesien. The majority of the coal reserves within the mining right area at Maquasa East and Maquasa West have been mined using underground mining methods. Based on the above description as well as the fact that Kangra Coal has ample experience in mining coal resources using underground mining methods, the use of underground mining at the two identified underground resources areas is necessary. Furthermore the mining of resources deeper than 500 m by any other mining method is not viable at this stage Method of Mined Coal Transportation Conveyor Belt Extension Currently Kangra Coal uses a conveyor belt system to transport coal from the existing underground and opencast operations at Maquasa West to the coal washing plant located at Maquasa East. The coal is then hauled to the Panbult Siding via an existing railway system. The conveyor belt runs continuously for 24 hours a day, depending on how the mining operations are proceeding and assuming that there is no mining or transportation down time. Currently the use of the conveyor is the most cost and environmentally effective method of transporting coal from one section of the mine to another. This method is also effective in minimizing impacts associated with utilising trucks to haul coal. With the proposed expansion project, there will be an increase in the amount of coal being transported from the existing mining area at Maquasa West to the coal washing plant at April 2014 Page 47

68 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Maquasa East. In addition to this, the need for an extension to the conveyor route is required to aid with moving the mined coal from Nooitgesien to the coal washing plant at Maquasa East. Whilst the conveyor belt extension does not form part of this NEMA application, it is important to include reference to it here and to assess the potential issues and impacts of this route in order to ensure that cumulative impacts are taken into consideration. The conveyor belt extension is being addressed as part of the Kusipongo Project EIA (Ref No 17/2/3 GS-52). Based on the distance of the proposed Nooitgesien operations from the coal washing plant at Maquasa East, as well as the potential impacts associated with the construction of haul roads and transportation of the mined coal via haul roads, the extension of the conveyor route is currently the most viable method for coal transportation from Nooitgesien to the plant Haulage Trucks Hauling trucks, as opposed to conveyor routes, have a larger capacity to transport coal across the mine from various sections to the plant. For this method to be a viable method for use with the proposed expansion, additional roads would have to be constructed and the existing roads would also have to be widened. If the conveyor route is not extended, then the use of haul trucks will have to be implemented at Nooitgesien for the proposed opencast and underground operations. As previously indicated, the potential environmental impacts associated with coal haulage would be more significant than those associated with transportation via conveyor. In addition, haul trucks are not likely to be operated 24 hours a day and will not carry as much coal as the conveyor can. For these reasons, the use of transportation via haul trucks is not deemed a viable option from an operational and environmental viewpoint Combination of Conveyor and Haulage Truck Transportation Kangra Coal has the option of using a combination of the conveyor and haulage trucks for transportation of mined coal from Maquasa East, Maquasa West and Nooitgesien to the coal washing plant at Maquasa East. A combination of the two transportation methods will minimise the number of trucks on site as well as the number of trips required per truck. The use of the conveyor would ensure that coal transportation can be undertaken 24 hours April 2014 Page 48

69 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 a day, even when the truck haulage has stopped for the day. Using both modes for the transportation of coal will increase the washing turnaround time at the plant. A combination of the conveyor and haulage trucks will be utilised for the expansion project until such time as the conveyor route extension has been finalised. 4.4 The Design or Layout of the Activity Since the onset of this environmental authorisation process GCS have, together with the applicant, assessed the proposed layout of activities. Three options have been considered in total from the onset of the project, through the Scoping Phase and now into the EIA Phase. These three options are discussed in detail in the sections that follow, after which the final project layout which will be assessed from this point forward is confirmed Layout 1: Proposed Opencast and Underground Mining (Maquasa East and Nooitgesien) Initially Kangra Coal proposed the expansion of operations to include 4 opencast pits at Maquasa East, 4 opencast pits at Nooitgesien and 2 underground areas at Nooitgesien (Figure 4-1). This layout was selected based purely on the availability of coal within the mining right area. The identified pits and underground areas were reported to contain coal to sustain the Kangra Coal mining operations for a further six (6) years. A concern with this layout is that two of the proposed opencast pits at Maquasa East (Pit A and B) are likely to have significant negative environmental impacts associated with them. These 2 pits are located a short distance from the Heyshope Dam which is considered a significant water resource in the local area. In addition a third proposed opencast pit at Maquasa East (Pit C) was located in very close proximity, less than 500 m, to the neighbouring Driefontein settlement. Kangra Coal has, as part of their social spend, committed to developing houses within the Driefontein settlement, and this had to be considered during the Scoping Phase. Potential fatal flaws associated with the pit placement adjacent to the Drienfontein settlement include: The potential cracking of and damage to houses due to blasting and mining activities; The potential for increased nuisance for the community due to dust fallout from the proposed pit; and The potential for an increase in noise levels as a result of the 24 hour mining activities April 2014 Page 49

70 Kangra Coal Pty (Ltd) Section 102 Figure 4-1: Layout 1 (4 Pits at Maquasa East, 4 Pits at Nooitgesien and 2 Underground Areas at Nooitgesien). (MAP NOT TO SCALE. REFER TO APPENDIX A FOR THE A3 MAP) Following the Scoping Phase and taking the concerns of Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) and appointed specialist investigators into consideration, the decision to change the layout was taken and a revised layout was developed Layout 2: Proposed Opencast and Underground Mining (Maquasa East, Maquasa West and Nooitgesien) The Maquasa West area was previously approved for the mining of coal via opencast methods in 2 identified pits (Figure 4-2). Following further prospecting and due consideration Kangra Coal identified additional coal resources in the Maquasa West area around these initially identified opencast pit areas. Kangra Coal decided to include these areas into the proposed expansion project and the layout changed to include four opencast pit areas (Pit A, B, C and D) as indicated in Figure April 2014 Page 50