Mine on Kruger National Park’s doorstep: New name, same company
8 November 2023
After months of delay, AfriForum was registered as an interested and affected party in Tenbosch Mining (Pty) Ltd.’s application to obtain mining rights for mining activities south of the Kruger National Park. The civil rights organisation learned in May this year that Tenbosch Mining (Pty) Ltd. is continuing with their mining rights application despite the previous environmental assessment practitioner’s announcement in October 2022 that Tenbosch Mining (Pty) Ltd. withdrew their application for a mining license and environmental approval.
In September, AfriForum’s legal team sent a letter of demand to Tenbosch Mining (Pty) Ltd.’s environmental assessment practitioner to register the organisation as an interested and affected party. In this letter, AfriForum also demands that the applicant must explain how the application can continue despite the misrepresentation that was made. The applicant simply indicated that the previous environmental consultant was misinformed. This whole situation is not only extremely suspicious, but also irregular. The applicant has a legal obligation to share all material information regarding the application with interested parties. AfriForum also had comprehensive comments drawn up on the proposed environmental impact assessment.
“The fact that AfriForum had to threaten the environmental assessment practitioner with legal action before we were registered as an interested party is indicative of the cunning way in which the applicant tries to manipulate the process and circumvent its obligations. We have also submitted comments regarding the existing environmental impact assessments that have been carried out,” says Lambert de Klerk, manager of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.
These comments point out several irregularities in the proposed environmental impact study which boils down to the fact that Tenbosch Mining (Pty) Ltd. must withdraw their application. The environmental assessment practitioner mentions Marloth Park in his location description, but he failed to mention the Kruger National Park - the latter is about 2 km closer to the mining location than Marloth Park is. The organisation believes that withholding critical information such as this is inexcusable and that it can be viewed as misleading towards all stakeholders.