RESPONDING STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ATHA AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD. (THE APPLICANT / RESPONDENT) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL SUBMITTED BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG FIRST APPELLANT BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA SECOND APPELLANT MINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK OF SOUTH AFRICA THIRD APPELLANT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FOURTH APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FIFTH APPELLANT GROUNDWORK SIXTH SIXTH APPELLANT ASSOCIATION FOR WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEVENTH APPELLANT BENCH MARKS FOUNDATION EIGHTH APPELLANT

This document is a responding statement submitted by Atha Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd. (AAV) to the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs. It responds to an appeal filed by eight environmental and social organizations against the granting of an Environmental Authorization for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine (YUCM) in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga Province.

• Atha Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd. (AAV) is a subsidiary of the Atha Group, an international conglomerate with interests in steel, power, renewable energy, and mining. AAV has contributed approximately USD 45 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the South African economy and expects to spend an additional USD 100 million for the YUCM Project.
• AAV disputes the standing of five of the eight appellants (Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa, GroundWork, Association for Water and Rural Development, and the Bench Marks Foundation), claiming they never registered as Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) during the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Public Participation Process.
• The Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine project is located within the Mabola Protected Environment, but AAV states that the surface infrastructure was specifically excluded from the Gazetted Declaration of the protected area on 22 January 2014 to accommodate the mine.
• AAV argues that the project will not have a widespread negative impact on freshwater ecosystems despite being within 1 km of a National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Area (NFEPA). They claim that the NFEPA Implementation Manual is a guideline rather than a blanket prohibition and that they followed rigorous assessment processes.
• The applicant asserts that the project will provide significant socio-economic benefits to historically disadvantaged communities, including Yzermyn Farm Community, Dirkiesdorp, and eSizameleni, through employment, skills development, and infrastructure upgrades.
• AAV disputes claims that the mine will cause significant water loss or dry up local springs. They state that a revised geohydrological model by Delta H shows limited hydraulic connectivity between shallow and deep aquifers, meaning dewatering activities will not extend to nearby FEPAs.
• The applicant claims that the risk of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is limited because the project was engineered to remove the coal washing plant and discard facility, which are the primary sources of AMD risk in the Utrecht coal seams.
• AAV argues that the project's impact on biodiversity is mitigated by the 'Best Environmental Option', which reduced the surface infrastructure footprint from 80 hectares to 22.4 hectares and removed the wash plant and discard facility.
• AAV requests the dismissal of the 'Brownlie Opinion' (a review by Ms. Susie Brownlie used by the appellants), alleging it was a rushed desktop review conducted without site visits and that Ms. Brownlie lacks the necessary expertise in engineering, geology, and geohydrology.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). RESPONDING STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ATHA AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD. (THE APPLICANT / RESPONDENT) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL SUBMITTED BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG FIRST APPELLANT BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA SECOND APPELLANT MINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK OF SOUTH AFRICA THIRD APPELLANT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FOURTH APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FIFTH APPELLANT GROUNDWORK SIXTH SIXTH APPELLANT ASSOCIATION FOR WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEVENTH APPELLANT BENCH MARKS FOUNDATION EIGHTH APPELLANT. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AAV-RESPONDING-STATEMENT.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. RESPONDING STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ATHA AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD. (THE APPLICANT / RESPONDENT) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL SUBMITTED BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG FIRST APPELLANT BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA SECOND APPELLANT MINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK OF SOUTH AFRICA THIRD APPELLANT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FOURTH APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FIFTH APPELLANT GROUNDWORK SIXTH SIXTH APPELLANT ASSOCIATION FOR WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEVENTH APPELLANT BENCH MARKS FOUNDATION EIGHTH APPELLANT. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AAV-RESPONDING-STATEMENT.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=RESPONDING STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ATHA AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD. (THE APPLICANT / RESPONDENT) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL SUBMITTED BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG FIRST APPELLANT BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA SECOND APPELLANT MINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK OF SOUTH AFRICA THIRD APPELLANT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FOURTH APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FIFTH APPELLANT GROUNDWORK SIXTH SIXTH APPELLANT ASSOCIATION FOR WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEVENTH APPELLANT BENCH MARKS FOUNDATION EIGHTH APPELLANT |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AAV-RESPONDING-STATEMENT.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrightsndresponding, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{RESPONDING STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ATHA AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD. (THE APPLICANT / RESPONDENT) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL SUBMITTED BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG FIRST APPELLANT BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA SECOND APPELLANT MINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK OF SOUTH AFRICA THIRD APPELLANT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FOURTH APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FIFTH APPELLANT GROUNDWORK SIXTH SIXTH APPELLANT ASSOCIATION FOR WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEVENTH APPELLANT BENCH MARKS FOUNDATION EIGHTH APPELLANT}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AAV-RESPONDING-STATEMENT.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }