12 CONDITIONS FOR MINING GREEN CHERT OR ELSE ...

MBABANE – Twelve conditions have been given to enable Michael Lee Enterprises (MLE) to continue mining Green Chert at Malolotja.

The 12 conditions are spelt out in the tribunal’s findings report on the Public Hearing on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Comprehensive Mitigation Plan (CMP) for the proposed Green Chert mining at Malolotja Nature Reserve by Michael Lee Enterprises, Hhohho Region. The tribunal was chaired by Principal Magistrate David Khumalo. It ruled that Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA) can only issue the Environmental Compliance Certificate; and the letter of authorisation to MLE after the latter has filled the identified gaps in its EIA and CMP reports.

The appointment of the tribunal came after a locally-registered company, by the name of Michael Lee Enterprises Eswatini Pty Ltd, was granted a prospecting and mining licence of Green Chert at Malolotja Nature Reserve, in line with sections 45 and 54 of the Mines and Minerals Act No. 4 of 2011. However, as much as the prospecting operations were undertaken, the mining project could not materialise. Having received the EIA Report and the CMP from the project proponent, the EEA made its comments on the contents of both documents. It referred them to public review, in terms of Section 52 of the Environment Management Act No.5 of 2002, read together with Section 11 of the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations of 2000 and the Environmental Assessment Regulations of 2022.

Hearing

Prior to the public hearing, 27 objections were lodged by members of the public, who, among other things, contended that the mining project would violate international and domestic environmental laws. They argued that the law prohibits mining in nature reserves. It was also argued that by allowing the mining project inside the Malolotja Nature Reserve, the country would place itself in serious disrepute and would be violating some of the conventions it signed and ratified. A further contention was that the mining project would be destructive to biological diversity. It was also contended that the project would cause water and air pollution, as well as unnecessarily cause deforestation.  The EEA proceeded to assess the objections and found that they were substantiated.

Section 12 of the Environmental Audit, Assessment and Review Regulations of 2000 provides that if the objections exceed 10 in number and are substantiated, the EEA must facilitate a public hearing through the appointment of a tribunal.The tribunal report that has been published by EEA has outlined a number of gaps that need to be filled by the interested company before the mining can continue. The report signed by the chairperson states that the tribunal observed throughout the public hearings that there were conflicting views between those objecting to the proposed mining of the Green Chert at Malolotja Nature Reserve and those who are in favour of the project.

The tribunal conducted a public hearing for all affected and interested parties to the proposed Green Chert mining on Farm 780 and Portion 1 of Farm 357, Malolotja, in the Hhohho Region, made findings, guided by the Environmental and Social Impact Statement (ESIS), CMP, written submissions on the project, oral representation, relevant legislation, policies and guidelines; and made recommendations. The hearings were held between October and November 2024.

Submissions

“Thorough analysis of the submissions from both parties by the tribunal revealed that the proposed mining of the Green Chert at Malolotja Nature Reserve is in the public interest. Standing out most in the submissions were the socio-economic needs confronting the country and the importance of protecting the integrity of the environment,” reads the report.
Further, the tribunal, in the report, said it learnt from the analysis that even stronger economies such as South Africa and Botswana, to name a few, have opened mines in their nature reserves under stringent conditions in order to ensure the co-existence of the mine and nature.

“It is the ruling of the tribunal that the proposed Green Chert mining project at Malolotja Nature Reserve should be implemented, taking into account the recommendations as presented in Table 6.1 below. EEA can only issue the Environmental Compliance Certificate and letter of authorisation to MLE after the latter has filled the identified gaps in its EIA and CMP reports,” reads the ruling of the tribunal. Firstly, the tribunal identified that the EIA and CMP reports have some gaps, which would have implications for effectiveness and enforceability. Therefore, the tribunal stated that MLE should sufficiently revise the current EIA report, and cover the assessment of project alternatives as provided for in the Environment Assessment Regulations, 2022. This should be done within the first month of the adoption of the Tribunal Findings Report. The tribunal punched holes in the weighting of impacts in the EIA report.

Impacts

“The weighting of impacts in the current EIA and CMP report is only done for the likely project impacts before mitigations, no weighting of the likely project impacts after mitigations have been done. This flaw makes the overall impacts appear to be overly negative compared to the positive ones (as if any mitigation measures would not be able to improve the situation). Revise the assessment of all the likely impacts of the Green Chert project to include the assessment of the severity of the impacts after implementation of mitigations,” states the Tribunal Findings Report. Additionally, the tribunal noted that the checklist of species of flora and fauna found within the project area is not thorough, as some species that are known to occur within Mgwayiza Valley and the larger project area have not been accounted for in the current EIA report.

The company was also given a month to use existing secondary data from specialist studies that have previously been undertaken for the Mgwayiza Valley and its environs to augment primary data obtained from floral and faunal surveys undertaken during the preparation of the current EIA report. The tribunal also ruled that MLE uses the updated checklist to assess in detail the likely impacts of the Green Chert mining project, especially on the endangered and endemic species. The company has also been urged to update the CMP to include proposed mitigation measures for addressing the impacts on endangered and endemic species.

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