Graves a barrier for Jindal’s $2-billion South African iron mine in KZN

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Graves a barrier for Jindal’s $2-billion South African iron mine in KZN

3:52 CAT | 08 Aug 2023

Image: Bloomberg

Activists claim 3,000 graves, homes would need to be moved

Mine would be South Africa’s second-biggest iron-ore operation

A plan by Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. to develop an up to $2 billion iron-ore mine in South Africa is facing opposition from communities who say the operation would require thousands of homes and graves to be relocated.

The proposed mine in Melmoth, in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, would dwarf recent investments in South Africa’s mining industry. It could produce 32 million tons of magnetite ore a year by 2031 after starting production in 2027, the company said in an emailed response to questions. Jindal is controlled by Asia’s richest woman, Savitri Jindal, and family.

“Our community of Makhasaneni has been fighting Indian giant mining company, Jindal Mine, who for years have been intruding with their plans to dig up iron ore in the lush hills that we have called home for generations,” community members said in a petition signed by more than 6,700 people. Jindal says a minority of residents oppose the project.

The obstacles faced by the company highlight the challenges of investing in South African mining, where decades of violations of environmental and social rights under apartheid eroded trust. At the same time, chronic unemployment and poverty in one of the world’s most unequal nations often pits people against each other when projects offer the prospects of work and business opportunities for some.

The Entembeni Crisis Forum, the group that organized the petition, said an assessment of the area that Jindal wants to mine shows it could lead to more than 3,000 households and 3,000 graves being moved.

The #EntembeniCrisisForum, who are fighting against the Indian Mining Giant, Jindal Steel, have been in the news because of a petition they started in order to #StopJindalMining from destroying homes and the environment. Watch their @Newzroom405 interview: https://t.co/hFfTF1uYc7 pic.twitter.com/CyWlUKMGlB

— Change.org South Africa (@ChangeorgSA) August 4, 2023