dea_environmental_nema_authorisation_-_5_july_2011-07b9f6a55944bcad.pdf

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) of South Africa granted environmental authorisation to Limpopo Coal Company (Pty) Ltd (LCC), a subsidiary of Coal of Africa Limited, for the Vele Colliery project. This authorisation, issued under section 24G of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), rectifies the unlawful commencement of several listed activities, including road construction, vegetation clearance, and the building of a slurry dam. The project is a phased coal mine with an estimated 29-year lifespan, consisting of open cast and underground operations.

• The Department of Environmental Affairs granted authorisation to Limpopo Coal Company (Pty) Ltd (LCC) to rectify the illegal commencement of listed activities at the Vele Colliery, as the applicant had started work without the required environmental authorisation.
• The authorised activities include the construction of a slurry dam on farm Bergen op Zoom 124 MS with a height of 7.4 metres and a total capacity of 132,440 cubic metres, designed to store 120,000 cubic metres of slurry material.
• A total of 109.12 hectares of indigenous vegetation, primarily Mopane vegetation, was cleared for mine infrastructure, including the East pit (26.65 ha), modular processing plant area (24.79 ha), and haul roads (15.97 ha).
• The Vele Colliery project is planned for a total lifespan of 29 years, starting with a five-year phase of open cast mining followed by 24 years of underground mining.
• The project is expected to have significant economic impacts, contributing R1.8 billion to South Africa's GDP during construction and R7.6 billion per annum during the operational phase, with R4.9 billion of that annual amount contributing to the Limpopo Province's GDP.
• To protect the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site, LCC must enter into a memorandum of agreement (MoA) and a Biodiversity offset agreement with the Department within six months of the authorisation date.
• The authorisation requires the appointment of an independent Environmental Control Officer (ECO) for all phases of the development and an independent environmental manager for the construction phase.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). dea_environmental_nema_authorisation_-_5_july_2011-07b9f6a55944bcad.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DEA_Environmental_NEMA_Authorisation_-_5_July_2011.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. dea_environmental_nema_authorisation_-_5_july_2011-07b9f6a55944bcad.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DEA_Environmental_NEMA_Authorisation_-_5_July_2011.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=dea_environmental_nema_authorisation_-_5_july_2011-07b9f6a55944bcad.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DEA_Environmental_NEMA_Authorisation_-_5_July_2011.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsnddeaenvironmentalnemaauthorisation5july201107b9f6a55944bcadpdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{dea\_environmental\_nema\_authorisation\_-\_5\_july\_2011-07b9f6a55944bcad.pdf}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DEA_Environmental_NEMA_Authorisation_-_5_July_2011.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }