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This document is an appeal decision issued by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of South Africa regarding an Integrated Environmental Authorisation (IEA) granted to Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd. The decision concerns the proposed expansion of the Tormin Mineral Sands Mine to extract heavy minerals, including ilmenite and rutile, across various farms and beaches in the Western Cape Province. After reviewing appeals from four parties—the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), North Western Cape Mining Forum (NWCMF), Raakvat Boerdery (Edms) Bpk, and Merle Sowman—the Minister dismissed most grounds of appeal but upheld two specific concerns regarding the coastal buffer zone and public beach access, leading to variations in the IEA conditions.

This briefing informs the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment regarding four appeals against an Integrated Environmental Authorisation (IEA) granted on 7 June 2019 to Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd for heavy mineral mining in the Western Cape Province. The briefing recommends dismissing three of the appeals and upholding one (excluding grounds regarding map accuracy), which would result in a variation of the original IEA.

This document is a Record of Recommendation (ROR) from the Mine Environmental Management sub-directorate to the Regional Manager of Mineral Regulation in the Western Cape Region. It recommends granting an Integrated Environmental Authorisation (IEA) to Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd for the mining of heavy minerals across several farms and beaches in the Vanrhynsdorp Magisterial District.