Marula Platinum - The proposed establishment of a 33 MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Facility at the Marula Mine, Limpopo Province

Marula, an existing platinum producer and a subsidiary of Impala Platinum Holdings Limited, owns and operates Marula Mine. The Marula Mine is situated along the R37, approximately 30 km to the north-west of the town Burgersfort and has been operational since 2001. The mine holds the following authorization:

A converted Mining Right 42/2008 (Ref No.: LP 30/5/1/2/2/61 MR), issued by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in January 2008.

• A converted Mining Right 23/2008 (/ref: LP 30/5/1/2/2/63 MR), held under Cession 32/2008, issued by the DMR in January 2008.
• An Environmental Authorisation (Ref No.: 16/1/7/2-GS29) issued by the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism on 16 September 2008 and an approved amended Environmental Management Programme report (EMPr) (Ref No.: 6/2/2/649EM) issued by the Department of Minerals and Energy on 24 January 2008 for the extension of the Merensky operations.
• An amended EMPr (Ref No.: LP30/5/1/3/2/1(61) EM and LP30/5/1/3/2/1(63) EM) issued by the DMR on 10 June 2014 for the proposed tailings scavenger plant, two additional ventilation shafts and the extension of underground mining activities.
• An Integrated Water Use License (IWUL) (Ref No.: 06/B71E/GACIJ/8841) issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation on 29 March 2019.

An Environmental Authorisation (Ref No.: LP30/5/2/3/2/1 (061& 063) EM ) issued by the Department of Minerals and Energy on 11 October 2022 for additional infrastructure at the Marula Mine.

Marula now proposes to change their approved surface infrastructure layout, through the establishment of a Solar Photovoltaic (PV) facility, with a generation capacity of up to 33 Megawatt (MW), within its existing Mining Right Area (MRA) for self-generation only (the solar PV facility is hereafter referred to as the proposed Project, or just Project). The proposed solar PV facility will be connected through the expansion of the Marula Mine’s existing transmission infrastructure and substation.

Prior to the commencement of the proposed Project, the following is required:

• An amended EMPr in terms of Section 102 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA)from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
• An EA is required in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA).

In order to apply for the above listed authorisations, a Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment process is required. SLR Consulting (Africa) (Pty) Ltd (SLR), is an independent firm of Environmental Assessment Practitioners, that has been appointed by Marula to manage the environmental authorisation process.

The proposed Project will also require an amendment to the existing IWUL from the DWS for specific water uses listed under Section 21 of the National Water Act, 1998 (No. 36 of 1998) (NWA). It is important to note, that this will be managed through a separate process and does not form part of this application.

Status

A Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (S&EIA) process is required to inform the Proposed Project. SLR Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd (SLR), has been appointed as an independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner to manage the S&EIA process. The draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) was made available for review and comment for a period of 30 days (23 August2023 to 21 September 2023).

Notice is hereby given that the final EIA and EMPr Report inclusive of all comments received during the scoping and EIA process, was submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). A copy of the final report can be downloaded below.