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Department of mineral resources and energy confirms that miner received written consent, but royal family emphatically denies this
The Tshivhase Royal Council in Limpopo has denied giving its blessings to mining activities that overlap into sacred, heritage and biodiversity-rich sites on its land.
This has led to public disagreements in parts of the province, commonly referred to as Venda.
The matter has caused hostility among the vhaVenda, with cultural mythology, traditions and environmentalism pitted against the mining idea.
The royal council finds itself at the centre of the dispute and is being accused of supporting the mining venture, something its members have flatly denied.
Royal council denies making any decision
The department of mineral resources confirmed it received a “written consent” for mining prospecting activities from the Tshivhase Traditional Council.
City Press has seen the letter dated August 30 2018 from the council which says the Mammba Metal Group “is permitted to do mining and prospecting at the farm Chibase 213 MT under Thovhele Tshivhase”.
A video of Thovhele Tshivhase, a senior leader of the Tshivhase dynasty, has also been circulated on social media in which he appears to be addressing a meeting on the mining opportunities and how mining prospecting works.
His spokesperson, Khosi Muelekanyi Tshivhase, said the royal council could not make any final decision.
He said the process was that the traditional council would pass matters on to the royal council which would then call all 76 traditional leaders under Thovhele Tshivhase for a discussion before the royal council took the final decision, something he said was yet to happen.
Muelekanyi Tshivhase asked for written questions when City Press asked him about the validity of the written consent which was sent to the department of mineral resources.
In response he wrote: “The Tshivhase Royal Council is currently engaging all stakeholders, including the affected communities and Mammba Metal Group. The engagement will take place within 14 days and we will revert [to you].”
Read: Residents shocked to discover illegal mining on their doorstep
Where things allegedly went wrong
Mammba Metal’s owner, Ernest Mammba, insisted that the traditional leadership in Venda supported the mining project.
He said there could have been a change of heart after he refused to give free shares to the senior traditional leader.
“Thovhele Tshivhase demanded ownership of the mine and that we only come in as investors and we refused.
“He was not willing to buy shares so he could be a co-owner in his personal capacity as things would normally be done.”
However, this allegation was shot down by Muelekanyi Tshivhase.
“There is no such. The king doesn’t go out there asking for that type of thing and he does not make decisions but the royal council [does],” he said.
He said theirs were genuine concerns regarding the environment.
“According to Mammba’s maps, the [intended mining site] is far from the lake. He said about 24km away … we don’t know, I’m not sure,” Muelekanyi Tshivhase said. “Whether it is 24km from the lake or not, concerns are there.”
He said a meeting had been called which Mammba, the community and environmentalists would attend.
“We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of the mine and, based on that, the royal council will make a decision. For now, there is no decision,” Muelekanyi Tshivhase said.
Mineral deposits found
The department confirmed that the Mammba group was “issued with a prospecting right on August 1 2018 … the right is valid for five years ending July 31 2023.
“The right is to prospect for chrome, coal, manganese, iron, copper, diamond, gold, nickel and platinum group metals,” it said.
Tshwene Tlabela, the company’s spokesperson, said they have already discovered 10 minerals after drilling 15 holes which he said happened “a distance away from sacred areas”.
Tlabela said their prospecting rights were valid for five minerals, but “found others [mineral deposits] that we never knew were there. We applied for five and we discovered five more.”
What’s at stake
Last week the imposing view of the sacred Lake Fundudzi could not be disrupted by the light mist hanging over the striking Soutpansberg mountain range.
Covered in a blanket of lush greenery and shrubs flowing right into the water, the picturesque area could be seen from Tshidzivhe village, about 30km west of Thohoyandou.
The lake, which is also a water source for many surrounding areas, has been declared a heritage site and is therefore protected by law.
On the other side of the mountain range lies the sprawling Thathe Vondo Park, also known as the Holy Forest.
The sacred forest provides a breathtaking scenic view of pine trees growing down the mountain slopes.
Viewed over the Vondo Dam from the other side of the Soutpansberg mountain range, you can see the rolling green Tshivhase tea planation.
One of those concerned about the fallout from the mining project is a traditional doctor and tourist guide, Dima Mashudu.
“The heritage site starts in Fondwe village and goes all the way around covering the mountain range. They [Mammba group] might say they will be mining 20km from Lake Fundudzi and the Thathe Vondo forest but I can assure you, mining will affect these sites either way,” Mashudu said.
“There are indigenous plants found nowhere else in these areas ... this is where we pray for the rain in time of need,” he said.
“We strongly believe that the mist that comes from Lake Fundudzi goes up into the sky and gets softly blown towards the Thathe Vondo forest where it then forms the legendary rain that spreads to many areas. Who would really want to mess up all that?”
Mashudu said there was a chain of sacred sites from up north – close to the Limpopo river all the way to the Vhembe District Municipality down to the Mopani District Municipality – all the areas under Queen Modjadji’s fiefdom.
“Rituals have to be performed in all these sites and if one breaks the spiritual chain there would be mayhem and we will lack the rain.
“These are not just ordinary sites and water sources … we have had drought for almost 10 years and our rivers here never went dry [in the past]. And now, why would we want to take chances and break the spiritual chain and anger our ancestors?” Mashudu said.
“Our area is rich in crop production ... let’s leave the underground [minerals] alone and make what comes out to the surface our livelihood.”
This sentiment was echoed by a traditional leader, Chief Livhuwani Matsila.
“From my perspective as an ecologist and traditional leader, I can speak from an informed point of view … what concerns us is the environmental impact that the mining operation is likely to have in the area, especially if you look at the sacred forest of Thathe Vondo and the water springs.
“We get lots of water from the wetlands and springs around these areas. Tampering with any of those water sources will affect our lives and [the life they] support all the way to far-flung areas such as Malamulele, the Kruger National Park and even Mozambique,” Matsila said.
“It is not a good idea to mine wherever there are minerals without considering all other issues together. People are now going to be forced, out of socioeconomic pressures, to choose between water and minerals because of short-term gains that will result in long-term negative effects,” he said.
“So, essentially you have the current generation wanting to benefit and not considering the future generations. And that thinking is not going to be sustainable.”
Confusions and contradictions
Mammba as a company was adamant that its intended mining activities would not affect the protected and sacred sites.
A statement sent to City Press on Wednesday read: “Mammba Metal Group has always given notices and advice from local chiefs that the environment must be respected. It also repeated the protection of the forest and indigenous culture by mining accordingly and not open cast mine at all.”
In a telephone interview with owner Mammba on Wednesday, he again denied that they intended to mine on sacred areas.
He said they were going to have both open cast and shaft mining.
Meanwhile, it’s not clear if any of the sacred sites fall within the farm Chibase 213 MT where prospecting is permitted.
City Press has established that the land is a subject of several gazetted land claim cases.
This was acknowledged by Tlabela, who said Mammba was still engaging with “claimants”.
Tlabela maintained that the company had received the royal family’s blessings to mine.
“We’re yet to receive any formal complaint from them but we have proof – including minutes [of meetings], video and audio recordings – to the effect that there were consultations and we were given permission [to mine].
“We will only release all those [details] after we have engaged with them and discussed the matter,” he said.
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