Third week of protests at Anglo American HQ against plans to scrape out huge coal-fired powerstation & mine in pristine Waterberg Lephalale valley Posted: 07 Aug 2013 07:42 AM PDT Third week of protests at Anglo American HQ against plans to scrape out a huge coal-mine and a coal-fired power station in pristine Waterberg/Lephalale Louis Trichardt region. The area is located next to some of the most endangered water-resources in Africa. Local Afrikaner Wally Schultz, of the Afriforum branch in Louis Trichardt, meanwhile has been waging a determined battle to stop CoAL mining group from continuing its plans to scrape out an open-pit coalmine right through the middle of a tribal village. He has also gained the cooperation of the local tribal chief after he took the tribal community on a trip to another open-pit coal mine to show them what their village will look like if CoAL company gets its way. (pictures attached). ————————- 6 August 2013 This small group of protestors (picture attached) from EarthlifeAfrica has held three consecutive weekly protest marches against AngloAmerican’s headquarters in Johannesburg to ‘protest against its plans to build the Vedanta coal-fired power station in the pristine Limpopo valley - ————————– EarthLifeAfrica wants to stop plans by Vedanta Resources group to build a coal fired power station in the Lephalale Waterberg area of the Limpopo valley. The group is peaceful and small, yet has been determined to keep on protesting these plans. Yet AngloAmerican issued a statement during the August 5 protest (picture) which implied that the safety of their employees was being threatened. It closed off its front entrance (picture) and said in its statement: “the safety of our employees and the security of the campus precinct is of paramount importance. Our Security Services have been fully briefed and will be deployed as required. Anglo American confirmed that ‘a negotation process was in place’ to develop a coal mine in the Waterberg region. ” If approved, the mine will produce coal to supply the privately proposed 600MW power station, to be built in the area by Vedanta Resources (and not Anglo American). “Anglo American appreciates that the Waterberg region is one of the most ecologically sensitive and water stressed areas in South Africa. We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that this process is transparent and in keeping with the company’s practices across all its operations.” ANC regime’s Coal Roadmap: ‘Many more coal mines to be opened up” A day later, the ANC regime released it’s ‘Coal Roadmap’ for South Africa, which revealed that it wanted ‘many more coal mines opened up’. South African coal exports totalled 75-million tons in 2012, 67.7-million tons of which was exported through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). The regme wants to mine another 90-million tons and plans to open up many more coal mines. in a Mining weekly article by Natalie Greve, the SA Coal Roadmap (SARM( was released – in cooperation with parastatal Eskom, coal producers, the ANC-regime and the Fossil Fuel Foundation. The Coal Roadmap report ‘details the interventions required for the domestic coal industry to maximise the commodity’s contribution to the South African energy mix,’ it said in perfect ANC-governmentese. It continued: “Developed through a collaboration of stakeholders in the local coal value chain, including the Department of Energy and the Department of Mineral Resources, the roadmap adopted a scenario-based approach to determine the implications of following a certain coal “trajectory.” It further identified actions that were considered “overdue” to ensure energy security in the face of what coal commentators refer to as the projected Eskom coal “cliff” from 2015 – a 60-million-ton deficit in the required coal volumes for the country’s developing power stations. Where are the 60million to 90million tons of coal going to come from? “In 2015, there’s a supply cliff for Eskom. Where are the 60-million tons going to come from? I haven’t got the answer. That’s a scary number and you have got to be investing now to have the coal then,” Wescoal CEO Andre Boje said at the company’s results presentation last month. Mining Weekly Online reported last month that Eskom’s contracted coal supply was poised to decline significantly in two years’ time, while the uncontracted portion was poised to balloon. The roadmap indicated that to ensure that existing coal-fired power stations remained operational, additional coal contracts must be secured, while the development of new mines was fundamental. ing and available data suggested that sufficient coal resources existed in the Central basin to supply existing power stations and the Kusile power station over their expected service lives. Crucially, however, the availability of the coal did not guarantee its delivery to the power stations, which depended on a number of factors, including the ability to open new mines and to develop associated transport infrastructure adequately and on time. “Critical to opening up new coalfields, including the Waterberg, is the development of infrastructure, including water pipelines, rail lines, the transmission grid and urban development,” said the report. NEW MINE DEVELOPMENT URGENTLY NEEDED: The SACRM advised that infrastructure and new mine development would need to be accompanied by a legislative and policy environment conducive to mining investment and accompanied by an agreement on a fair pricing model. Mining companies currently faced a number of challenges, including government’s failures to adhere to mandatory approval processes, discretionary decision-making and a lack of certainty when attempting to obtain the necessary approvals for the establishment of new mines. “In addition, the current lack of security of tenure on prospecting rights introduces uncertainty, while also enabling the ‘hoarding’ of prospecting rights,” stated the roadmap. Meanwhile, despite the expected coal supply deficit from 2015, the document emphasised the need to continue to capitalise on coal exports – a critical source of foreign revenue. South African coal exports totalled 75-million tons in 2012, 67.7-million tons of which was exported through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). “The document suggested that sufficient coal reserves and resources remained in the Central basin (Limpopo) to grow total exports to a peak of some 90-million tons a year by 2023. “Subject to the creation of a mechanism to align export growth with meeting domestic utility requirements, required actions should include the continued expedition of currently planned upgrades in capacity on the rail line from the Central basin to the RBCT, and continued expansion planning in line with demand requirements,” the roadmap advised. SACRM’s white English-speaking South African chairman Ian Hall told Mining Weekly Online last month that “exports should be maximised, since they were the highest-value contributor and an incentive for investment.” “This hinges on immediate and significant investment in the coal industry. In the current context, this is a real challenge,” he commented. miningweekly/article/sa-coal-roadmap-officially-released-calls-for-new-coal-mines-2013-08-06 Source CENSORBUGBEAR.org Related articles: 1. Anglo American pushed to quit South Africa 2. Afrikaners chased from Gold-fields by warring mine-gangs 3. South Africa re-opens rare earth mines
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 15:56:46 +0000
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