New mine near the Kruger National Park under fire

An application to construct a large coal mine near the Kruger National Park’s southern border has met strong opposition.

Tenbosh Mining submitted the application in February alongside its environmental consultants Kimopax.

The applicant seeks to build an underground coal mine on an approximately 5,500 ha piece of land south of the Kruger National Park.

The mine’s construction would include the building of large above-ground infrastructure, including processing plants, landfills, and water treatment facilities among other things.

The application has been highly criticised by civil rights organisation AfriForum, alongside local residents who say the mine’s construction will negatively impact on them.

AfriForum’s Manager for Environmental Affairs Lambert De Klerk said that the construction of the mine would be detrimental not only to the environment, but to the area’s economic stability.

“We will act decisively to protect the Kruger National Park and the surrounding communities, as well as the local agriculture and the tourism economy, from any development that could cause irreversible damage,” De Klerk said.

A public participation meeting was held in nearby Marloth Park on 13 March 2026, allowing community members and stakeholders to comment on the application.

Numerous points of contention were raised during the meeting, from water scarcity and air pollution to potential job losses in local agriculture and tourism.

When questions regarding inconsistencies between Kimopax’s Draft Scoping Report and their Mining Works Program were raised, Kimopax did not respond.

A representative from Sasol also raised the issue of the ROMPCO gas pipeline, saying that damages to the line from mine blasting or traffic would have severe consequences.

Various flaws were pointed out with regards to Kimopax’s public participation process, as well as their Environmental Impact Assessments.

“The public participation process and the underlying documentation must meet the legal minimum standards,” De Klerk said.

“Where the basic property descriptions, footprint information and regulatory references are inconsistent or incorrect, the process cannot be treated as valid.”

A continuous battle

Tenbosch Mining and Kimopax’s application is the latest in a series of controversial mining proposals over the last few years.

An application for the mine’s construction was submitted in 2018 under Manzolwandle Investments, with Singo Consulting serving as environmental consultants.

The application was rejected by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in 2020, who said the environmental impact of the mine would be too detrimental.

AfriForum also submitted a criminal complaint to the South African Police Service, alleging that Singo Consulting had committed fraud during their environmental impact analysis.

Manzolwandle Investments attempted to appeal the decision, with the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment at-the-time Barbara Creecy approving the appeal for review.

AfriForum successfully overturned Minister Creecy’s decision in March 2022, but a new application for the mine had already been submitted almost a year prior.

This new application had been submitted by Tenbosch Mining, with Limp Earth & Consulting as environmental consultants.

AfriForum would later find out that Tenbosch Mining had bought Manzolwandle Investments some time between the two applications.

The new application failed to correctly follow proper public participation processes, which had been an issue with Manzolwandle’s application a few years prior.

Tenbosch Mining would withdraw this application in October 2022, before submitting a new application in May the following year with Kimopax as the environmental consultant.

They would subsequently withdraw this second application in December 2025 following more backlash from AfriForum and the local communities.

A third application was submitted sometime in February 2026, and it remains to be seen whether it will be withdrawn as well.

AfriForum has stated firmly that it will continue to oppose the construction of a mine in such close proximity to the Kruger National Park.

“Our message remains that no mine should be developed in these types of areas,” De Klerk said. “The future of this region depends on the protection of the natural assets that sustain it.”