MABOLA PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT REVIEW OF 2015 WETLAND ASSESSMENT

This document consists of maps and technical excerpts from a review of a 2015 wetland assessment for the Mabola Protected Environment, focusing on simulated groundwater drawdown in Karoo aquifers and catchment areas related to underground mining.

• Simulations of the steady-state zone of impact from underground workings on the deeper fractured aquifer show an extent of approximately 2 km downstream or North of the mine. Significant impacts, defined as drawdowns exceeding 20m, are limited to the area immediately above the underground mine workings.
• The simulated steady-state cones of dewatering represent an unlikely worst-case scenario because such cones require years or decades of unimpeded groundwater inflows to develop. The projected 15-year mine life is expected to end before steady-state drawdown is established, at which point the mine will no longer be actively dewatered and the water table may partially recover.
• Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and water supply springs within the site boundaries may be negatively impacted by the dewatering of the shallow aquifer during the mine's life. Conversely, springs within the cone of dewatering of the deeper fractured aquifer (also limited to site boundaries) are unlikely to be impacted due to the nature of the connection between the shallow and deep aquifer systems.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). MABOLA PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT REVIEW OF 2015 WETLAND ASSESSMENT. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Annexure-G-Part-2.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. MABOLA PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT REVIEW OF 2015 WETLAND ASSESSMENT. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Annexure-G-Part-2.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=MABOLA PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT REVIEW OF 2015 WETLAND ASSESSMENT |date=29 November 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Annexure-G-Part-2.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2017mabola, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{MABOLA PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT REVIEW OF 2015 WETLAND ASSESSMENT}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Annexure-G-Part-2.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }