Department of Mineral Resources and Energy Refuses Nekwana's West Coast Prospecting Bid

In an unprecedented move, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in South Africa rejected a prospecting bid from Limpopo-based Nekwana Trading Enterprise (Pty) Ltd. The reason for this surprising scale-tip? A lack of an effective environmental impact plan.

The West Coast, famous for the distinctive raw beauty of its largely unspoiled terrain, was earmarked for prospecting of heavy minerals, kaolin, and gemstones. This move had not sat well with environmental activists who hailed the decision as a potential policy shift on part of the DMRE towards rigorous scrutiny of the environmental assessment of mining and prospecting applications.

Despite the setback, Nekwana remains undaunted, questioning the DMRE’s decision as well as the adjudication process. Company director Nekwana Seroka claimed an absence of any directive from the DMRE and argued that the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act process was not followed. The extension into the motives behind the DMRE's decision, with Seroka hinting at possible interference from external forces without offering further details.

The prospecting application targeted Karoetjies Kop 150, a farm straddling the border of the Western and Northern Cape provinces, with plans set for testing identified target areas through drilling, mapping, geophysical and geochemical surveys. Nekwana’s environmental consultants TPR Mining Resources (Pty) Ltd had submitted a final Basic Assessment Report (BAR) and a tentative Environmental Management Programme (EMP) earlier this year.

However, the DMRE, unsatisfied with the environmental assessment efforts, pinpointed significant omissions in both BAR and EMP reports, necessitating the rejection of the prospecting application. This included a lack of clarity regarding the positions of the prospective drill holes, insufficient understanding of ecologically sensitive areas, and a below-par impact assessment related to archaeological and palaeontological aspects.

The Protect the West Coast organization voiced its approval of the DMRE's decision, characterising it as hard-won vindication for their mission to uphold legal and environmental standards in mining operations across the West Coast.