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This document contains the Appellants' Heads of Argument filed by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Federation for a Sustainable Environment. The appeal, brought under section 149 of the National Water Act (NWA), challenges a Water Tribunal decision that dismissed an appeal against the granting of a water use licence (WUL) to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine. The appellants argue that the Water Tribunal erred on several questions of law, including the failure to consider the strategic importance of the mine area, the absence of landowner consent, the misapplication of the precautionary principle, the lack of post-closure water treatment provisions, and the misapprehension of the burden of proof regarding socio-economic impacts.

This responding statement, submitted by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of eight appellants, challenges the Department of Mineral Resources' (DMR) approval of the Environmental Management Programme (EMPR) for Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd's proposed Yzermyn mine. The appellants argue that the approved EMPR authorizes an environmentally destructive discard dump, ignores extensive government conservation policies for the area, and contains woefully inadequate financial provisions for rehabilitation.

The document contains the applicants' heads of argument in a legal matter before the High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division. A coalition of seven non-profit organisations seeks the review and setting aside of a decision by the MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs to exclude four properties from the Mabola Protected Environment to facilitate the construction of an underground coal mine by Uthaka Energy (Pty) Ltd.

This document is a legal notice filed in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria) in August 2017. It outlines the grounds upon which several applicants, including Mining and Environmental Justice and GroundWork, seek the review and setting aside of decisions made by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and the Minister of Mineral Resources to allow Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd to conduct commercial mining in the Mabola Protected Environment.

This practice note outlines a legal application in the High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division, seeking to review and set aside decisions regarding a land use change from agriculture to mining on Portion 1 of the farm Yzermyn 96.

This Applicants' Practice Note for Case No. 1322/2021 in the High Court of South Africa (Mpumalanga Division) outlines a legal application to review and set aside a decision by the MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, Mpumalanga to exclude four properties from the Mabola Protected Environment.

The South African Department of Environmental Affairs issued an amendment to the Environmental Authorisation (EA) dated 31 October 2013 for the construction of the 450 MW Khanyisa coal-fired power station in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga. The amendment updates the project applicant and the specific farm portions designated for the project site and ash disposal site.

This document consists of a formal letter and a variation of the Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) issued by the Nkangala District Municipality to Eskom Holdings SOC Limited for the Arnot Power Station. The letter, dated 20 April 2015, addresses Eskom's request to correct errors in the AEL, while the attached licence specifies the operational conditions, emission limits, and reporting requirements for the power station's activities.

This document is an affidavit filed by Praveer Tripathi, Senior Vice President of Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd (now Uthaka Energy), in the High Court of South Africa. The affidavit responds to a filing by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), alleging that the CER and its attorney, Catherine Horsfield, have a conflict of interest because they are acting as both legal representatives for environmental groups and as activists with their own agenda to stop coal mining. Tripathi details a decade of litigation and media campaigns led by the CER to obstruct Atha-Africa's coal-mining project in the Mabola Protected Environment, arguing that these actions follow a global 'disrupt and delay' strategy used by environmental NGOs to make fossil fuel projects unviable.

This document is a replying submission by Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd to the Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources. It responds to an administrative appeal lodged by a coalition of environmental organisations against the approval of the Environmental Management Programme (EMP) for the Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine Project.

This document is a written response from Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd (the Second Respondent) to a substituted appeal submitted on 1 December 2017. The appeal, lodged by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, and Mpumalanga Landbou/Agriculture, challenges the Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation's decision to grant a water use licence for the Yzermyn Project. Atha-Africa argues that the Appellants rely on outdated reports and a misunderstanding of the precautionary principle, asserting that the project's environmental impacts are localised, manageable through mitigation, and balanced by significant socio-economic benefits.

This document is a confirmatory affidavit signed by Thomas Mnguni, a Community Campaigner for the non-profit organisation groundWork, in support of a legal matter involving environmental justice movements and various South African government ministers and officials.

This case study details a legal and administrative dispute regarding a coal mining application by Benicon Mining (Pty) Ltd on the farm Bankfontein in Mpumalanga. The Mpumalanga Lakes District Protection Group (MLDPG) appealed a positive environmental authorization, citing failures in biodiversity assessment, wetland delineation, and the underestimation of post-closure water rehabilitation costs.

This responding statement, submitted by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of BirdLife South Africa, argues that a mining right granted to William Patrick Bower Pty Ltd (WPB) should be set aside. The document contends that WPB's replying submission was filed late and introduced new, unauthorized mine layout plans and hydrogeochemical data that were not available to the decision-maker at the time of the grant. BirdLife South Africa further asserts that the mining area contains endangered ecosystems and irreplaceable biodiversity, contradicting claims made by WPB.

This document is an Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) issued on 31 March 2015 by the Gert Sibande District Municipality to Eskom Holdings SOC Limited for the Camden Power Station. The licence, issued under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, regulates emissions from solid fuel combustion, petroleum storage, and coal handling, establishing specific operational requirements, emission limits, and monitoring obligations for a period not exceeding five years.

This document is a confirmatory affidavit signed by John Capel, Executive Director of the Bench Marks Foundation, in support of a legal matter (Case No. 1322/2021) in the High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division.

This guide, produced by the Centre for Environmental Rights and Lawyers for Human Rights, provides information for communities and individuals in South Africa on their environmental and legal rights when facing proposed mining activities. It details the mandatory government permissions, consultation processes, and legal avenues available to affected parties to protect their land, water, and health.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a statement to the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs in September 2015 regarding South Africa's position for COP21. The CER argues that climate change mitigation is a Constitutional obligation under section 24, and that current state decisions to build new coal-fired power stations directly contradict these legal duties and national climate policies.

This guide by the Centre for Environmental Rights outlines the critical importance of South Africa's 22 water source areas (WSAs), which provide 50% of the country's surface run-off despite covering only 8% of the land. The document details the threats facing these areas—including mining, agriculture, and climate change—and proposes a 'legal toolbox' of statutory mechanisms to protect these essential ecological infrastructures.

This document is a Directive Compliance Affidavit filed by Nabeelah Mia, an attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights, in the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Division, Pretoria. The affidavit confirms compliance with the Judge President’s Consolidated Practice Directive dated 18 September 2020 regarding Case No: 11761/2021, specifically verifying that no duplicate files were created on the CaseLines Management System and listing the parties invited to the system.