Section 24G application for sand mining operation, Cliffdale

The Applicant, Umsunguli Group (Pty) Ltd, had an approved mining permit that was issued on 19 February 2015 to legally mine silica sand from the Umsunguli borrow pit. The original permit was valid for a period of 2 years. The Applicant renewed the permit the allotted 3 times (up to one year each time) in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act No. 28 of 2002). The approved mining permit expired in February 2020 and the Applicant continued to mine silica sand from the borrow pit. On 10 December 2020, the Department of Mineral Resources conducted an inspection of the site. The findings of the inspection revealed that the Applicant had contravened Section 24F(1)(a) of NEMA (as amended), in that they commenced with an activity listed or specified in terms of section 24 (2) (a) without environmental authorisation or/and a mining permit. To ensure that the operations are brought up to a compliant level and maintained, the Applicant has decided to lodge a S24G application with DMR to rectify the contravention.