On Christmas eve, while most South Africans were looking forward to an enjoyable festive season, the residents of Okhukho were inundated by a flood of contaminated water from Zululand Anthracite Colliery’s breached pollution control dam. They watched with dismay as the floodwaters turned the dead Umvalo River into a raging torrent that would flow into the Black Mfolozi river and into the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park.. Some communities rely on the Mfolozi for drinking water. They have lived next to ZAC since 1984 so many know full well the dangers this water contained but that they, their livestock and their fields were powerless to avoid it.
Initially there was confusion because there had not been much rain. It now emerges that the likely cause of the flooding stems from ZAC’s greed. To increase its profits, ZAC apparently pushed production through the Ngwenya processing plant resulting in unmonitored water being pumped into the pollution control dam that caused the dam wall to collapse. An accident waiting to happen.
At this stage it is difficult to assess the impact of the flood but undoubtedly it will have serious consequences. The highly contaminated water in the pollution control dams contains heavy metals including high levels of manganese. Excessive amounts of this metal can wreak havoc in our bodies triggering oxidative stress, inflammation, as well as cognitive and reproductive issues. It can make infections like Covid-19 more dangerous and lead to a Parkinson’s-like condition called manganism.
Mr Neil Wilson, an ecologist featured in the 2020 50/50 programme about ZAC, warns that the recent extensive floodwaters will result in serious environmental damage. Based on the toxicity of the water sample he took from an illegal discharge dam two years ago, he is concerned about it leaching into the groundwater and the increased contamination of the Black Mfolozi river that flows into the nearby Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, a sanctuary created for Rhino in 1897, over 100 years ago. For many years there have been concerns about ZAC’s impact on the Black Mfolozi river, particularly the effect on small aquatic organisms that are highly susceptible to pollution and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the river system.
It is important to understand the history of ZAC’s pollution control dams, a mine that is notorious for non-compliance and blatant disregard for the law. While owned by Rio Tinto, three illegal shafts were sunk that operated over a period of 10 years, until Rio Tinto admitted to their existence in 2013. These operations used many thousands of litres of unlicenced water per month. The excuse given by Rio Tinto, arguably the biggest mining company at the time, was that failure to disclose these shafts previously or to apply to open the shafts had been an administrative oversight. Not only did the Department of Mineral Resources buy this lame excuse, it condoned the shafts, requiring Rio Tinto pay a trivial fine of R497 000 to make these criminal activities disappear. A bargain at the price, given that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) legally required them to obtain a mining licence that can cost in the order of several million rand.
When, in 2016, Menar, the current owners of ZAC took over ZAC, there was a signed undertaking with the then Department of Water Affairs that the new water use licence ZAC had applied for was conditional on the three existing pollution control dams being lined within a year. This was never done.
During its lifetime, ZAC has been responsible for the death of three important rivers. This has had an enormous impact on the rural farming communities who have no water and no money to pay the exorbitant rates charged by opportunistic waterpreneurs.
Against this background, it was unbelievable that the Department of Water and Sanitation approved ZAC’s recent Water Use Licence application earlier in 2021. This licence is associated with the new Mngeni Adit mining right that ZAC applied for and that GET and others are currently contesting.
In 2022, GET will be exposing ZAC’s past misdemeanours and links to the current and possible future crises. Undoubtedly the laissez-faire attitude of the authorities to ZAC and, in some instances, government’s active support for the mine do little to encourage operations that protect the environment and comply with the law and the Constitution. Hopefully this is set to change.
Documents
Water Sample Analysis of Zululand Anthracite Colliery’s Mbucwane River Containment Dam.pdf
CER Internal Appeal to KZNEDTEA on ZAC S24G fine quantum.pdf
