With 33 mining companies vying for prospecting rights in Newcastle, a wave of concern is rippling through the community over the potential toll on the town. However, the Newcastle Municipality has stated that it is stepping up to tackle these fears while keeping the region’s growth firmly in sight.
The mining debate ignited in November 2023, when Cabanga Environmental hosted a public forum to unveil Minetek Resources’ plan to launch operations.
Residents heard a detailed breakdown of the expected fallout, the environmental studies steering the project, and the safeguards proposed to temper risks.
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Since that pivotal meeting, a surge of additional firms have set their sights on coal prospects in the area, sparking alarm among community groups and organisations over the threats to Newcastle’s people and its natural surroundings.
Councillor Bertie Meiring, who leads the Newcastle Municipality’s Development and Planning Committee, revealed that a specialised committee is in the works to keep the mining surge in check. This group will harness expertise from the municipality’s legal, technical, and other critical sectors to steer the industry responsibly.
“While the committee still needs to be established, taken through Council and then through the EXCO, the Newcastle Municipality is establishing the committee to ensure that the mining sector is managed correctly,” Meiring declared.
Furthermore, he stressed that the committee will scrutinise mining proposals to confirm their viability, shielding the community from harm. “One of the requirements so far for the mining companies, is that they repair the roads that they use, so not as to damage the Municipal infrastructure, which residents rely on. Also, through the committee, the Municipality wants to be able to see decisions made that will positively impact both the residents and the municipality,” he added, confirming he’ll be on the committee among the key players involved.
Composed of experts spanning multiple fields, the committee is expected to enforce strict adherence to regulations.
Meiring validated the community’s unease but pressed for a broader view that weighs the economic upside mining could deliver.
“There will be some negative implications, such as the dust, but we must also focus on development within Newcastle, especially with the future of ArcelorMittal South Africa’s (AMSA) Newcastle Works still remaining unclear. We need to understand that if AMSA does close its Newcastle Works, there are other several businesses which will be impacted,” he cautioned.
Additionally, Meiring pointed out that mining promises jobs, a lifeline for an economy at a crossroads. Though these firms won’t rival AMSA’s workforce numbers, he argued they could stem the tide of families leaving for better prospects elsewhere. “We do not want Newcastle to die, and the Newcastle Municipality will ensure that the residents, the environment and the town itself will be considered when working with the mines,” Meiring noted.
While no timeframe could be provided on the committee’s establishment, what are your thoughts on the steps that the Newcastle Municipality is taking to monitor the mining sector in town?
Share your views in the comment section below.
Comments 23
absolute garbage
Where is the comitte right now with all the roads falling to pieces, the water infrastructure failing, the town cbd full of prostitutes and dug dealers. where is this great management?
These people lie to fill their own pockets or mandates.
33 mines and you are saying some dust………..
33 mines will collapse the towns infrastructure and living conditions.
will Bertie pay my bond if i were to move due to the mine setting up on signal hill? or the one here at grey goose?
Mittal closing has nothing to do with me. these business you speak of, has nothing to do with me.
are they paying my bond every month? or they maintain my yard?
Do not speak for me, my voice is clear. you lot are destroying the town!
This is a joke”roads to be maintained”fixed”.How long have the mines been operating in the Normandien area?Are the roads fixed or maintained? No!!!We have a beautiful dam that can’t get accessed due to damaged roads.Really these so called committee’s do not care a Sh*#.Lies ,lies and more lies all for a buck and how many locals are going to be employed?Is Newcastle really going to benefit???
The fact that no health care has been provided for places that the mines affect us mind bottling. For example the ikwezi mine was said it will create employment for people ntendeka but not many people have been hired. For your cv to be even considered in that mine you have to bribe the hr stuff. Now we are left with black soil and dust that will probably affect our health for general to come. They do not even plant trees to combat their damage to earth. So no more opening of mine in newcastle. We are tired.
Why has it taken so long for the municipality to deem it necessary to create a committee..the mines have been the talf of the town for 2 years
Seems like it had been decided, that the mines are going to be in operation despite what the residents of Newcastle feel. Our voices are never heard, only politicians matter. What a crooked world we live in. So, now they going to establish a committee to oversee the mines☠️
No more mines close to Newcastle and definitely not on the D96 road. Amielpark and Lennoxton will be severely affected by the 150 coal trucks a day and the bridge on the D96 can’t take 1truck.
All the wildlife, birds. animals will be affected by the daily explosions.
No new jobs will be created. Look at existing mines around Newcastle, look at that devastating impact.
town must take a vote of no confidence in this leadership and mayor.
Trying to pull the wool over readers’ eyes. 😱
*LIES:*
• “Mining will make up jobs when Mittal works close down.”
What a dishonest narrative. Inform people of the facts and stats, let’s talk numbers so that people can see for themselves how this is a deception devised to abuse their hope for jobs and economic relief.
•”Forget about the dust, let’s tolerate it so that we can *save* the economy of the town.”
I’m sure they confuse normal dust with coal dust. It is *VERY MUCH* something else. It gets into every crevice of everything – including your lungs. So congrats, you have a few cents more in the bank, but you & your child suffer from chronic respiratory issues. What a life to look forward to!
• “The municipality will hold mining companies accountable.”
They can’t even hold themselves accountable to do the job our rates and taxes pay for!!
• “The municipality will *safeguard* everything we are concerned about and sift out non-viable applications”
So, in other words, just shut up and sit down. We know what’s best for you and we will decide on your behalf.
What makes me so angry is the inference that we are *close-minded* , not looking at the broader picture, and do not wish economic relief or improvement for everyone in our town, as if that wouldn’t be to our benefit too?!
Implying that we are selfish to not want our environment and livelyhoods destroyed and devastated for the profit of a few.
Be honest and share the facts. If you don’t have them don’t comment in an official capacity on matters you still need to be educated on or do your homework on.
Take the time out to actually hear the counter argument against these 33 applications, the biggest of which and furthest along so far being the D96 project. GET THE TRUTH. The actual proper, scientific EIA’s, not the garbage CABANGA submitted.
These specific applications are not 30km out of town where the problems are a bit distanced. It is right on our residential borders and surrounds the town completely.
They will make the town die a slow and suffocating death… and they most certainly *WILL NOT* uplift the town or save the town ‘out of the goodness of their hearts’ *or at the expense of their profit.*
How well are the current mining operations being held accountable, to at the very least fix the damn roads those massive amounts of heavy coal trucks track through our CBD? Seriously?! 80 trucks over the weekend, for ONE mine. Imagine 80×33 trucks PER DAY, but no one says a thing about that.
Long gone is the time where politicians can just shush us with a “nothing to see here, we know what’s best for you”😡
Not over optimistic that residents wishes will be considered. Mines in such close proximity will be a disaster for residents. I do not believe many long term meaningfull jobs will be created.
To be honest, check Darnacol, Utrecht all these areas are Ghost towns because of of previous mining industry please analyse carefully repucurssions of that. People worked there are now relying on communal farming and Sassa others passed on due to TB nobody benefittied fruitful, show us only one except those capitalist who captured land and our economy. In Gauteng we are left with unattended holes left by miners. Beautiful Newcastle will become Ghost town like Danhauser. This is inderect Colonialism by the foreigners who are not living within jurisdiction of Newcastle. Even Government failed drastically to meet and fullfil the content RSA Constitution, therefore don’t expect your monitoring tool will be better than Constitution itself which have been contradicted several times. How many Commissioned were stgaded to come with remedy. Minining is a disaster not so long the outcome of Merikana gave us lessons with people died there. Maybe Newcastle want experience self with mining. Life of people are less than economy orientation.
It’s scary to imagine what will become of our water source and the effects on our homes and surrounding area. Do these companies have a plan to rehabilitate the area after they have mined all the coal or will they declare bankruptcy and leave our town in a mess and disappear?
I would suggest that instead of assuming please visit the mining companies around Dannhauser e. g Mbabane and others get fidback from the community around thereN
Another disaster on the horizon. You don’t need a special committee to evaluate anything. The cons outweigh the pros.When are you and your cohorts going to do something about our decrepit town which is dilapidated stinking mess.
Can’t they fix railway first and use it instead of roads.? Other than job opportunities for few lucky ones, how else will Newcastle benefit from these mines?
Come on councilor Bertie Meiring! Give the people whose tax money pays you to serve their best interest a little more credit, you know we see right through your hog wash
We already suffer, our health, our wealth ( fixing something due to potholes, need for bottled water, need for filtration systems, solar when they mining the coal they can’t even use the infrastructure to help those who they harm first hand even in the slightest etc) water standards poor, sewerage lies open in fields and broken manholes or pipes where people pass by and live. Mosquitos out of control , foot and mouth diseased cattle every few months , avian flu every 6 months to a year, egg production contamination issues and pollution to rivers, infrastructure issues, municipal theft and corruption not forgetting non compliance issues , poor management, unskilled individuals have meetings and inform a to z and get nothing done, globetrotters from which money? If it is their own they are getting paid too much from us and if it is from municipal funds that’s why they can’t fix things, what about the secretaries who are unscrupulous and another lot of wasting money.
It doesn’t end
Why pay them, let us stop together
What u don’t have can’t stop can it?
No clean water, no services so what are we all paying for?
Councilors represent the people? That’s a joke. Feom the mayor to the person on the street all want to have some benefit except the very few honest good people that don’t steal, aren’t involved in corruption, aren’t a bad lot of people but that is the answer to the problem. We do not have enough of people who stand up for good and stop evils, they are either silent, enjoying the theft and contracts and harming the greater society.
Yes, some people after hardwork have wealth that’s a blessing … even a so called poor person is wealthy when they can afford to live peacefully and in goodness but it’s being stolen right under all of our noses. If everyone leaves it’s a solution and what about the extremely innocent who can’t and the poor? Even the rich can’t just pack up their decades of investments homes land and leave. Its heartbreaking. God is great and is our help and provider. Let us stand together to fight corruption within ourselves, within our communities, within the municipality, in Newcastle, in government… those who work for the mine are harming the people themselves and Newcastle. There are many jobs in farming, shops etc you don’t have to be a miner or mining boss it’s a business at the cost of societies and peoples lives. The black coal dust isn’t the only dust that you find yourself with when harming people. Take care of Newcastle, the river, the land, the infrastructure, the trees, the animals, the people … the children! What is wrong with so many people, can’t you see? Can’t you smell? Can’t you hear? Don’t you know how to live properly? Are all these comments not enough to help educate you and make you think? And do everything differently? Those who can leave, leave but help as best as you can to bring awareness. Leave because some who stay want to be silent, want to believe their own things and just earn money, leave because you have to protect your life, your parents are aging, your kids health … what is keeping you here?
History? Love for this place? Poverty? Wealth? Yes, everyplace has issues… which one is the least problematic would be best. Did you ever consider expropriation has issues so this is an easier alternative…who knows what nonsense people think. If people owned land, knew how to take care of it, have a sense of community, care for maintaining fields, outside their homes etc they would live better have free food need to work less and live a purer life. Who are the prostitutes working for?
Who can’t eradicate crime?
Who allows evil to continue?
Drugs? Who is buying drugs? Where do they get money? Where are their parents and family? Let’s not forget abuse and kidnapping
Who will protect the people and kids?
Bombing vehicles on the road in broad daylight? Is this normal? Locking up cpf members a threat to stop helping the community or the truth since justice is almost non existent in Newcastle? The flooding roads in cbd, in residential areas. Where are the trees? The grass is overgrown… rain or sunshine people should work and maintain everything. Kids walk to school. Dangerous no storm water covers, no place to walk overgrown? Is this what you are doing and spending day in and out slaving away at your job to buy food for your family at high prices and electricity… pay for sanitation and water even refuse (this is ok but the dump is it managed properly?) The roads who benefits from contracts grants _ say no from within yourself. Stop allowing it to continue. Your friends are benefiting people you know benefit stop it! Stop them! Educate them! Report them! Get all the people you know to spread the word about what they do(truthful factual things) and get together and stop them, stay away from them. Have some respect for yourselves and family … stop being a slave to society, government politics … no! We are ALL south africans, this is our land Black South African, White South African, Coloured Soutg African, Indian South African, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese South African, Pakistani South African, Bangladeshi South African, Nigerian South African, Somalian South African, Zimbabwean South African etc We are all God almighties creation! We are meant to live well and worship God almighty. This is a lack of our purpose. So my dear Newcastillians fulfill your purpose. Turn to God your maker and creator. Those who don’t know God exists so just truly ask Gof for guidance and you will be guided! Do not hesitate and then enjoin good and forbid evil. Whoever stops one from attaining their purpose must be stopped. So know right from wrong. Too much tv and internet makes people stupid. Get rid of unnecessary things and live honorably and properly.
Together we can change it all! If we stand together with God almighties mercy upon us all and beg our lord for forgiveness and guidance to that which God loves. God’s help is near. Trust in God AND tie your camel.”
Is it as planned ?
Destroy
Deceive
Deny
Good vs Evil
Which one are you?
You will reap what you sow.
My suggestion at this point – Report you’re ward councilors who do not take action against this.
Force this town to vote for no confidence in the current mayor and the group running the town into the ground. They clearly do not listen to the residents. How much rates and taxes and support have you given them?
Sold OUT!!!!
It is a joke. They don’t want families leaving town. What do you think will happen with all these mines arriving. Staying will become unbearable. People will leave in numbers . Me included.
Property values will drop. Say by 10% on R1m . So it will cost me R100 000 for the mines to come here and what do I get for that. The municipality will not reduce our rates so we end up paying for value that is not there. How many people will be willing to pay
Great article highlighted here. In a real world there should be complex balance between economic growth and environmental responsibility in a mining sector. Learning from other economies built through mining, such as witbank and middelburg can provide valuable insights into sustainable practices, community engagement, and long-term economic benefits. By implementing strict regulations, fostering local beneficiation, and ensuring infrastructure development, Newcastle can maximize mining’s potential while protecting its people and environment. This town needs to grow.
Nice point
The are so many people from Newcastle working this side of Mpumalang in mining
Anime ukvimba ntuthuko abantu baywudinga msebenzi crime iningi kodwa nina nicabanga izinto eziya emuva akuqali nge Newcastle ukuba ne mining abantu basuka lana baye MP LP NW province’s kuyobuka mathuba msebenzi kahleni bafwethu kesi nike ithuba yonke lento ukuba semhlabeni sonke sibole kiwe impilo one day sokufa vele uma ningafuni mining yenzani phela mathuba omsebenzi Ana plan niyagxeka kuphela
My people from Madadeni and Osizweni are waiting with eager and jubilation for the mines to open. Firstly, because our family members are living in Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and towns outside Newcastle employed in mines. At least they now stand a chance to come back and live with us.
The town has long been thrown to the dogs by the corrupt municipality. Roads have been destroyed already, no water nor sanitation systems, huge influx of foreigners, drug dealers and prostitutes, young people tortured by drugs (amaphara), no job opportunities etc.
So, what is there for us to protect. Either way we are in trouble. We are just ghosts already waiting for our ghost town. Azilime ziye etsheni.