OPEN LETTER - ANGLO AMERICAN’S PLANS TO SHED COAL ASSETS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) issued an open letter to Anglo American plc on February 29, 2016, urging transparency and public participation regarding the company's plans to divest its coal and iron ore assets in South Africa to prevent the creation of further derelict and ownerless mines.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) expressed concern over Anglo American's restructuring plans announced on February 16, 2016, which involve selling off coal and iron ore assets in South Africa to focus on copper, platinum, and diamond businesses.
• The CER warns of a trend in South Africa where large mining companies sell assets with significant environmental liabilities to smaller companies that subsequently go insolvent, leaving the state or public to bear the cost of rehabilitation.
• The CER cites the abandoned Blyvooruitzicht mine in western Gauteng and operations in the North West sold by Harmony Gold to Pamodzi Gold Orkney (Pty) Ltd as examples of environmental dereliction following asset sales.
• The CER asserts that public participation is legally required for the transfer of mining rights under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA), as the Minister of Mineral Resources' consent constitutes administrative action.
• The CER highlights a systemic issue in South Africa with 6,000 derelict and ownerless mines that cost taxpayers millions annually, and demands that Anglo American provide full disclosure of environmental liabilities and financial provisions for rehabilitation for its assets being sold.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). OPEN LETTER - ANGLO AMERICAN’S PLANS TO SHED COAL ASSETS IN SOUTH AFRICA. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CER-Letter-to-Anglo-American-PLC-29-Feb-2016.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. OPEN LETTER - ANGLO AMERICAN’S PLANS TO SHED COAL ASSETS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CER-Letter-to-Anglo-American-PLC-29-Feb-2016.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=OPEN LETTER - ANGLO AMERICAN’S PLANS TO SHED COAL ASSETS IN SOUTH AFRICA |date=29 February 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CER-Letter-to-Anglo-American-PLC-29-Feb-2016.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016open, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{OPEN LETTER - ANGLO AMERICAN’S PLANS TO SHED COAL ASSETS IN SOUTH AFRICA}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CER-Letter-to-Anglo-American-PLC-29-Feb-2016.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }