Coal miners forced to operate illegally

06 August 2015 - 02:10 By Sipho Masombuka

At least 10 mining companies that supply coal to Eskom have had their water-use licences suspended in recent weeks. But the mines have continued to operate in violation of the law.It appears that the Department of Water Affairs has failed to resolve problems delaying the issuing of licences. Some applications have being pending for up to two years.The suspension of the licences has drawn criticism from Minister of Mineral Resources Ngoako Ramatlhodi, who said the Department of Water Affairs had acted without consulting his department.He was speaking in Pretoria yesterday ahead of a meeting with mining companies and unions, convened to stem job losses in the sector.Ramatlhodi said achieving better communication between the two departments was on the agenda.He said there was a " need for the government to co-ordinate and harmonise our activities"."It is very clear to me that what we do on the one hand can hurt the other hand if we are not harmonised."The minister said he would open discussions with his Water Affairs counterpart, Nomvula Mokonyane, to remedy that situation.He had been calling for mines not to be closed "because as we do so we contribute to job losses. I want to be given a chance, together with my colleague in Water Affairs, to look into solutions to issuing of water licences."Ramatlhodi on Tuesday suspended the operating licence of Optimum, a subsidiary of Glencore, because of the way in which it has cut jobs. The suspension coincided with the news that the coal mining company was in business rescue because of an uneconomic coal supply contract with Eskom."I am hoping [that Optimum] will follow the directives that we are issuing, in which case I should be able to lift the suspension as a matter of urgency," Ramatlhodi said...

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