Dear Landowners

After numerous requests to the consultant (Future Mining Consultants / Andre Richter) we have finally received a number of documents used by the consultant and applicant (Autumn Skies Trading 455cc / Werner Harms) in their application for prospecting to the Department of Mineral Resources.

PLEASE review the documents below and submit your comments back to us as soon as possible via email to admin@magaliesburg.org.za.

Goudkoppie Prospecting Application EMP – (Application Number: GP30/5/1/1/2/10022PR)
Goudkoppies-4Evergreen-Environmental-Report (4.3 Mb PDF)
Goudkoppies-EMP-Plan-Magaliesburg-Mining-Prospecting (1 Mb PDF)
Goudkoppies-PRpp10-Letter-FutureMining-SAHRA (120 Kb PDF)
Goudkoppies-PRpp11-Letter-FutureMining-Land-Affairs (110 Kb PDF)

Koesterfontein Prospecting Application EMP – (Application Number: GP30/5/1/1/2/10030PR)
Koesterfontein-4Evergreen-Environmental-Report (4.3 Mb PDF)
Koesterfontein-EMP-Plan-Magaliesburg-Mining-Prospecting (1.6 Mb PDF)
Koesterfontein-PRpp5-Letter-Richter-Sahra (1.8 Mb PDF)
Koesterfontein-PRpp8-Letter-Richter-Land-Affairs (1.8 Mb PDF)
Koesterfontein-PRpp9-Letter-Richter-Sahra (100 Kb PDF)
Koesterfontein-Response-Prospecting-IQ45-SAHRA (340 Kb PDF)
Comment from Esther at Heritage Dept to Andre Richter at Future Mining Consultants (540 Kb PDF)

The consultant (Future Mining Consultants) has finally made available the Environmental Management Plans (EMP) for the prospecting applications by Autumn Skies Trading 455 cc on Koesterfontein and Goudkoppies in Magaliesburg. The document download links are available below for your reference. We urge all Magaliesburg residents and landowners to review them and to submit their comments to us on admin@magaliesburg.org.za

Environmental Management Plan (EMP) – Goudkoppies (Application GP30/5/1/1/2/10022PR) – (1 Mb PDF)
Environmental Management Plan (EMP) – Koesterfontein (Application GP30/5/1/1/2/10030PR) – (1.6 Mb PDF)

We have also received after a VERY long wait, the audio recordings of the first two public meetings. These recordings are available for download on the links below.

Public Meeting 30 August 2011 – Midrand (Application GP30/5/1/1/2/10022PR) – (30 Mb – MP3)
Public Meeting 1 Sept 2011 – Magaliesburg (Application GP30/5/1/1/2/10022PR) -  (102 Mb – MP3)
We also urge those that have NOT yet voiced their opposition to these developments to please sign the online petition

Dear Landowners, residents and stakeholders in Magaliesburg. It is important that as many objections as possible are lodged with the Department of Mineral Resources regarding the proposed prospecting/mining applications that have been lodged in Magaliesburg. Below are two forms which need to be completed and emailed back to us. The one form is for landowners and the other form is for Interested and Affected parties. You need only complete one and email back to us on admin@magaliesburg.org.za

It is also vital that you spread the word around Magaliesburg as there is still landowners and people who will be affected by this who are as yet unaware.

LandOwners Objections Document to Proposed Prospecting in Magaliesburg (PDF)

Interested Affected Parties Objections Document to Proposed Prospecting in Magaliesburg (PDF)

Please complete one of the above forms and email back to us on admin@magaliesburg.org.za

Robertson Valley Wine Festival Flyer

R130 per day and R210 for the entire weekend which includes a R10 “plant-a-tree” donation. Kids u/18 enter free Gauteng is about to be hit by an outdoor wine festival like you’ve never experienced before. Don’t believe us? Ask the nearly 19 000 visitors who travelled from far and wide this year to enjoy the country’s biggest wine festival – the Robertson Wine Valley’s Wacky Wine Weekend. Or the 7000 people who came to enjoy our Hands-On Harvest, Robertson Slow and Robertson Wine on the River festivals. Or the renowned travel journalist who named one of our festivals the country’s Best Wine Route Promotion…twice. They’re all hooked on the Robertson Wine Valley’s famously fabulous festivals – one of which is about to be experienced by you! Yes, we’ve decided to share our Winelands hospitality with other South Africans. That is why, for the second year in a row, Robertson Wine Valley Festival @ Kloofzicht Lodge will be held from September 17 to 18 at the spectacular Kloofzicht Lodge in Muldersdrift. Brought to you by the Robertson Wine Valley, in conjunction with Kloofzicht Lodge and Tourism Maps, this festival will let you do what thousands of wine lovers love to do every year – meet the winemakers, owners and personalities of the Robertson Wine Valley as they present the best the Valley has to offer. You’ve probably tasted our wines before. Now it’s your chance to become our friend and have the time of your life! Gates open at 10h00 each day and ends at 17h00 on Saturday and 16h00 on Sunday.

Click here to visit the web site.

Courtesy of Environment.co.za see the map below of current and new prospecting applications being lodged on Magaliesburg farms. For more info on the latest application see this page.

Current and New Prospecting Applications on Magaliesburg Farms (Image Copyright 2011 - Environment.co.za)

An update to this previously posted notice:

NOTICE OF A SECOND PUBLIC MEETING PERTAINING TO AN APPLICATION FOR A PROSPECTING RIGHT FOR GOLD AND URANIUM (WITH BULK SAMPLING) CONTEMPLATED IN SECTIONS 16 AND 20 OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002, RESPECTIVELY, COVERING CERTAIN PORTIONS OF AND/OR PORTIONS 2, 27, 28, 29, 33, 40, 41, 42, 43, AND 44 OF THE FARM KOESTERFONTEIN 45 IQ, MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT OF KRUGERSDORP, BY AUTUMN SKIES TRADING 455 CC (REG NO: 2008/146618/23)

The purpose of this notice, which is served in terms of section 16(4)(b) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act 28 of 2002), is to inform you/your concern, in your/its capacity as a possible affected party, that I consultant with my client and we decided to hold a second round public meeting on Thursday the 1^st of September 2011 at Magaliesburg Hotel at 17h00.  All parties are welcome to attend.

Background information on process so far:

    There was a prospecting right held by another concern over more or less the corresponding area for 5 years which lapsed on 31 July 2011 (which concern seems to have disappeared).

    My client consequently had to wait until the 1^st of September 2011 to apply on the new online application system (SAMRAD Online) of the DMR (which is still not fully operational).

    As there was an environmental liability outstanding on the area, the new system could not accommodate and accept the application right away.

    The IT team from the DMR accordingly struggled with this problem.  We kept in constant contact with the Help Desk. We eventually managed to obtain an acknowledgment of receipt out of them (17 August 2011), stating that we will receive acceptance within 14 days form the date of the said receipt.  On further telephonic enquiry with Sipho from the DMR helpdesk he confirmed that according to the said system we had only up to 31 August to conduct the public participation process and to submit the public participation template, the reason for our hastily consultation.

         We have however since received a notice of acceptance dated 22 August (see attached), which notice was only sent to us on 24 August, that we had until 14 September 2011 to submit the said template.

My client is out of the country for several weeks from this coming Friday the 2^nd of September and therefore we have to host the second meeting at the latest on Thursday afternoon 17h00 (seeing that many parties requested this time and a closer venue).

We are consequently now able to provide you extra time for comments until Friday the 9^th of September 2011 as to provide me some time to prepare the template for submission at the latest on the 14^th of September 2011.  

The Environmental Management Plan (EMPlan) is still to be drafted is still to be submitted to the DMR contemplated in section 39 of the MPRDA (60 days after the date of acceptance).  You have a right to request a digital PDF copy of the EMPlan when same is available.

The prospecting work programme contains privileged information pertaining to mineralisation, costing and certain financial information which will not be made available to any party.

My client will in any event personally consult with any land/freehold owner before entering on his/her land if the application should be successful.

Comments may be submitted in writing to:

Future Mining Consultants: futuremining@gmail.com
REFERENCE: GP30/5/1/1/2/10022PR
Fax: 086 691 2411
Contact Person: Andre Richter 083 5757 671

or to

Department Mineral Resources
REFERENCE: GP30/5/1/1/2/10022PR
Private Bag X5
Braamfontein
2107

Welcome to the Magaliesburg.org.za web site. Here we’ll have everything you need to know about visiting Magaliesburg. We’re working hard getting the new web site off the ground so there is many changes coming every other day. In this section we’ll build the most comprehensive list of activities and attractions in and around Magaliesburg.

If you’re a venue in Magaliesburg that wants to list your activity or attraction here, please feel free to contact us on attractions@magaliesburg.org.za

Article reprinted with permission from Environment South Africa:

The Magaliesberg probably has the most intriguing and longest session of history than anywhere else on earth. The reason for this is the discovery of the remains of the earliest species of primitive man known today, in and around the Sterkfontein Caves, some 20 minutes drive from Magaliesburg and a declared UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Cradle of Humankind. In 1947 Dr. Robert Broom extracted a well preserved fossil skull named “Mrs. Ples”, estimated to be around 2.3 million years old, from the world famous Sterkfontein Caves. More recently, in 1997, Professor Ron Clarke discovered “Little Foot”, an almost complete hominid skeleton aged at about 3.5 million years. Professor Clark describes the discovery of “Little Foot” as amongst the most significant palaeoanthropological finds ever made.

The scenic beauty and biodiversity value of the natural environment of the Magaliesburg is unquestionable. The value to man as a haven from the stress of urban life, and as an open space to enjoy, is clear. However, the archaeological interest in this area is as important as the natural aspects. The tourism potentials of the area far outweigh other negative forms of land usage and it’s no secret that the Magaliesburg is the top weekend getaway destination from the hustle and bustle of city life in Johannesburg and surrounds. Magaliesburg is also one of the major gateway towns to the world famous UNESCO Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site providing a great majority of tourist accommodation and attractions and will soon host a visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind which is planned to be built in the town.

Why is it then that this history and heritage is planned to be destroyed by Mining Companies, their Consultants and the Department of Mineral Resources?

Why is it that this historical town and surrounding lands was recently removed from the Cradle of Humankind’s development buffer zone?

When the UNESCO Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site was established, a buffer zone required for a world heritage site was established with a public consultation process. Initially this buffer zone included the historical town of Magaliesburg and surrounding lands as can be seen in the image on the left. However early in 2011 an updated process took place to amend the buffer zone area and it seems very few affected people seem to know about this process having even taken place. What is also very interesting to note is that the new proposed buffer zone (Pictured right) now excludes the town of Magaliesburg and numerous other lands surrounding the Cradle of Humankind that were previously included. Is it merely a coincidence that since this amendment there is now a flurry of mining consultants trying to get prospecting rights or already having obtained prospecting rights on lands directly behind the town of Magaliesburg and other farms bordering the town? Why have such vast areas been removed from the buffer zone?

In recent months residents and landowners have come to learn of one mining company who has already successfully been issued with a prospecting license in the mountains directly behind the town of Magaliesburg and has been actively prospecting. It appears that very few people were informed about this application or invited to attend meetings or lodge objections. This is certainly not surprising news because we have seen consultants try every trick in the book to say they did their part in inviting public participation. But the truth is that when signboards are erected they are either placed 2-3 metres high on street poles where nobody can see them, are often placed in places where they are obscured by other signs and almost 100% of the time these signboards are well under the size requirements for public noticeboards, some not even 50% of the required size. Given the scale of the area these noticeboards pale into insignificance and with the high winds the area often experiences some signs barely stay up for 24 hours. This of course plays very nicely into the hands of the mining companies who then hold their public participation process which gets minimal attendance and very few objections and the mining company then reports to the department that they conducted their process according to regulations and then get issued a prospecting license. The only landowners that are ever consulted are the one’s on whose lands they intend prospecting and often these consultations come with “gifts”. Neighbouring landowners who may protest or object are kept in the dark as long and as much as possible, just long enough until operations have already begun. Landowners who question the legality of the issuing of these licenses often have court interdict’s or SLAPP suits issued in an attempt to silence them.

Now in recent days another mining consultant has lodged another prospecting application on various portions of the farm Koesterfontein 45 IQ (Koester is Afrikaan for “Cherish”) bordering the town of Magaliesburg. The consultants appear to have spent ample time consulting with certain landowners but then 8 days ago erected a few, barely noticeable, signboards around the area giving a mere 10 days to lodge objections. The consultants also proposed their meeting to be held in the town of Midrand, an hour and a half’s drive away from Magaliesburg. When tackled on the issue by numerous people, who had only by chance come to learn of this application, the consultants magically scheduled a second meeting for this process which is now being held in Magaliesburg an at an appropriate time where residents and landowners can actually attend. That meeting is yet to take place and we’ll have a separate follow up report on that meeting and its outcomes in the coming days and weeks.

One thing is for sure, the heritage, history and beautiful vista’s of Magaliesburg are under serious attack.

The lands of Magaliesburg have been well protected for decades and many attempts in the past by mining companies have been thwarted. Equally the lands of Koesterfontein have been home to generations of families and have been protected all this time and are noted by the environmental sector as sensitive class 1 ridges with high agricultural potential. For those unaware, class 1 ridges are like red data species. The Bloubank River (Blaauwbank) is a river catchment running through Koesterfontein, feeding into the Magalies River and all these proposed mining activites border directly on this river. Any mining activity will, without a doubt, irreparably ruin this river system, the natural environment surrounding it and pollute rivers downstream leaving agriculture which relies on water from these rivers to water their crops with acidic, even radioactive mine effluent.

South Africa is already dealing with a major problem of Acid Mine Drainage due to 120 years of ignorance by the mining industry and government, yet they and the government continue to turn a blind eye to the environments of this country where waters and rivers are still relatively unpolluted, where the air is still good to breathe and where wildlife is still allowed some form of habitat.

If mining ever goes ahead on these lands the projects would be open cast mines and this would be absolutely devastating for the entire region and would devastate the tourism industry and natural environments of the region not to mention place the future of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site at great risk of being lost forever. South African’s have a duty to protect their heritage and to protect the history of this country and the Magaliesburg is one area that has been protected for generations and needs to be protected for generations to come.

If these issues are not tackled now, all there will be to show your grandchildren in Magaliesburg one day will be one big messy hole in the ground.

Some text quoted from:
Magaliesberg Biosphere
Maropeng

Please see updated notice HERE:

Source: Environment.co.za

Tiny Signs Notifying Of Prospecting Application Meeting Posted Around Magaliesburg (Image Courtesy - environment.co.za)

A prospecting application by a company calling themselves Autumn Skies Trading 455 cc is being handled by a Mining consultant called Future Mining Consultants. Notices which are barely noticeable were erected some time on Saturday the 20th of August. These notices are hardly noticeable to passers by using this incredibly dusty sand road and probably intentionally placed that way.

The notice states that a public meeting is to be held on the 29th of August 2011 in Midrand Estates and comments / objections are to be received on the 30th of August 2011. Firstly the scheduled date of the meeting is grossly inadequate, 9 days notice is NOT acceptable by any means. The meeting location requires that landowners in Magaliesburg have to travel an hour and a half to Midrand which is also NOT acceptable. Secondly the consultant seems to think it is okay to give all objectors 1 day to submit their comments following the meeting. This alone violates any legal requirements of public participation processes set out in law. Such actions are often deliberate to get as few people as possible to attend the public meeting and to get as few objections as possible. The mining consultants then go to the Department of Mineral Resources and say they did their jobs. Residents encountered the exact same tactics back in 2007. It is no surprise though that consultants try to do the absolute minimum to follow the law and also very evident it is done this way to make it as difficult as possible for people to attend or lodge objections.

It is time once again for the custodians, landowners and residents of Magaliesburg to take action.

One thing is for sure, the World Heritage status of Magaliesburg and the Cradle of Humankind which attract visitors worldwide is at great risk of being lost due to such activities not to mention precious agricultural lands of which this country is already running short.

The Full Notice Posted Reads as Follows:

NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROSPECTING ACTIVITIES

Notice is hereby given of an application for prospecting right ( with bulk sampling) contemplated in sections 16 & 20 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Devolpment Act, 2002, respectively, covering certain portions of and/or Portions 2, 27, 28, 29,33, 40, 41, 42, 43, and 44 of the farm Koesterfontein 45 IQ, Magisterial District of Krugersdorp, by Autumn Skies Trading 455 CC ( Reg No: 2008/146618/23).

All interested and affected parties are hereby notified to register as an interested or affected party by contacting the appointed consultant through fax or e- mail and are hereby invited to attend a meeting on 29 August 2011 at 12h00 at the consultants office, namely 2 Lake Circle, Midfield Eatates, Midrand Estates (Midstream), Midrand. The closing date for receiving your registration, coments, concerns and objections is 30 August 2011.

The consultants are:

Future Mining Consultants:

futuremining@gmail.com
Fax: 086 691 2411
Contact Person: Andre Richter 083 5757 671