A MINING company in northern KwaZulu-Natal has come under fire after being accused of polluting a river.
In a statement, the Zululand District Municipality said it believed that the mine’s mining licence must be revoked.
The Mercury has not named the company because it was unable to locate its officials to respond to the matter.
The pollution allegedly happened when material from the mine spilt into the Mvalo River on Christmas Eve last year.
Zululand District Municipality mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi strongly condemned the recent pollution of the Mvalo River and called for the (company’s) mining licence to be revoked.
“Our message is clear, the company’s mining licence must be revoked with immediate effect. As a caring municipality we are at the core of protecting our environment and our people’s health. Therefore, we will not allow this company to exploit the poor community of Ukhukho by poisoning their water.
“Coal material from the mine spilt into the Mvalo River on December 24, posing a risk to the community and water sources.
“Our municipality has invested more than R30 million into water infrastructure that is now being contaminated by the mine,” remarked Buthelezi.
The company had confirmed that there had been a spill in a recent media statement.
It said that on December 24, 2021, at approximately 2pm, an end wall of slurry pond 3 failed, resulting in a pollution spill of 1 500m3 of coal slurry.
It said the spill was caused by the failure of the slurry pond end wall.
It said that upon receiving a report on the failure, mine management immediately began with plugging the pond and initiated a clean-up operation, both manually and mechanically.
“These clean-up operations will continue as guided by the relevant legislation. To assess possible damage caused to surrounding host communities, (the company) is engaging the relevant local community forums and structures to identify any such damage and discuss resolutions thereof.”
THE MERCURY