Sustainability Assessment of Post-Mining Land Use Planning
Mining, by its nature, provides enormous investment to the mining nations and by extension contributes to the socio-economic development of the host communities. Where these communities exist, they remain a cause of concern since they are predominantly dependent on the economic opportunities generated by the mine. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) functions in mining are somewhat of a risk reduction activity, even though the potential of halting projects is comparatively rare in situations where proposals are deemed to be of national interest and politically significant. This study highlights the environmental and socio-economic impact of lack of land use planning in host communities where the phenomenon of mine closure is a lived reality and evaluates alternative post-mining land use. In this study a case study, qualitative research approach is used to comparatively evaluate three mining EIA reports (EIA on the extension of mining operations at the Vlakvarkfontein Coal Mine; consolidation of high extraction mining impacts in the Trichardtsfontein; and rail loop, road diversion and pipeline project associated with Temo Coal) on the extent of post-mine land use consideration in the EIA process. Furthermore, the study, inter alia, assessed the extent to which the interested and affected parties' input was considered in EIA reports. In rehabilitation, the applicant is only reinstating the area, as closely as possible, to that which existed pre-mining, and should not be confused as post-mining land use. There is nothing new in providing for rehabilitation in EIA – it is a standard practice. However, the mining EIA reports extensively covered the environmental components, particularly the specialist studies, as they assessed whether projects conformed with the regulatory requirements. The emphasis of the mining EIA reports was mainly on the environmental component with – other than employment and economic benefits – no post-mining land use and socio-economic impact indicators. These trends were found to be further reinforced when the input of the interested and affected parties (I&APs) was analysed. In view of the findings of this study, the main recommendations to improve the EIA systems would be to clarify and simplify the mandates of the several institutions involved in the EIA process and system; and to improve and increase public access to EIA reports, including electronic means. This is pertinent due to the conspicuous absence of EIA reports in the public domain, which contributed to the limited number of EIA reports that were reviewed in this dissertation. In addition, public participation processes (PPP) should be conducted in most common languages of the stakeholders; and specialist social impact assessment should go beyond the traditional socio-economic issues faced by I&APs to include post-mining land use, as well as sustainable post-mining economy.
Sustainable Mineral Resource Development
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