et3-d178e81375b40721.pdf

This memorandum from the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs (DARDLEA) evaluates an appeal by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and its clients against the environmental authorisation granted to Atha Africa Ventures (AAV) for the proposed Yzermyn underground coal mine. The department recommends that the appeal be dismissed, concluding that the authorisation process was legally sound and that potential environmental impacts can be mitigated to acceptable levels.

• The Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs recommends that the appeal against the environmental authorisation for the Yzermyn underground coal mine be dismissed, stating there is "no basis by which the appeal can succeed".
• The proposed Yzermyn underground coal mine is planned to produce 2.25 million tons of thermal coal per year with an estimated life of mine of approximately 15 years, utilizing the Alfred and Dundai coal seams of the Utrecht coal field.
• The project is located in an environmentally sensitive area, with underground mining occurring within the Mabola Protected Environment and bordering the Kwamadlangampisi Protected Environment. The site is identified as having the "highest importance for biodiversity" and lies within the endangered Wakkerstroom Montane grassland ecosystem.
• Environmental assessments identified several risks, including the disturbance of 12.1 hectares of total wetland area (though 7.62 hectares were already transformed by agriculture) and the potential for coal samples to be "potentially acid generating".
• The department rejected the appellants' claims regarding social discrimination and lack of benefit, asserting that the area suffers from "high rate of unemployment, poverty and no development" and that the mine will provide employment and stimulate the local economy.
• The environmental authorisation was granted based on a "best environmental option" layout, which relocated surface infrastructure to the northernmost area of the prospecting right to minimize biodiversity and wetland impacts and eliminated the construction of a discard dump (residue stockpile).

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). et3-d178e81375b40721.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ET3.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. et3-d178e81375b40721.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ET3.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=et3-d178e81375b40721.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ET3.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndet3d178e81375b40721pdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{et3-d178e81375b40721.pdf}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ET3.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }