Case Decision - 186900

Final CommentBased on the submitted information, it is unlikely that the proposed mining will have a negative impact on significant heritage resources and as such, SAHRA has no objection to the proposed mining activities on condition that;- The sites identified in the submitted heritage assessment, Sites 1, 2, 3 and 4, must be conserved in situ and may not be impacted by the proposed development. A 20m buffer zone of no development is required around the identified resources. A Conservation Management Plan must be drafted for the continued management and conservation of these resources throughout the Life of the Mine.- The monitoring and finds protocol provided in the palaeontological field assessment must be adopted and included in the Final EMP. The qualified earth scientists referred to must be experienced in Karoo palaeobotany.- On-site checks for the occurrence of any fossils of the excavated pit and stockpiled material are required once a month for the first six months of the mining operation by an earth scientist and every six months by an experienced Karoo palaeobotanist. The frequency of these checks will be assessed after six months based on the findings and the planned mining programme. The Karoo palaeobotanist must submit a monitoring report to SAHRA on this work.- The training of at least one senior member of the on-site staff in the observation of fossils and fossil-bearing strata such that the potential for fossil observations is increased during the period between checks by the experienced Karoo palaeobotanist.-  Please note that the value of a fossil is vastly decreased in the absence of geological context. Although a fossil discovered on the discards pile is still of great academic and intrinsic value, its scientific value is diminished because it is no longer in situ.- Should any evidence of archaeological sites or remains (e.g., remnants of stone-made structures, indigenous ceramics, bones, stone artefacts, ostrich eggshell fragments, marine shell and charcoal/ash concentrations), unmarked human burials, fossils or other categories of heritage resources be found during the proposed activities, or in any future activities, SAHRA APM Unit (Jenna Lavin/Colette Scheermeyer 021 462 4502) must be alerted immediately, and a professional archaeologist or palaeontologist, depending on the nature of the finds, must be contacted as soon as possible to inspect the findings. If the newly discovered heritage resources prove to be of archaeological or palaeontological significance a Phase 2 rescue operation might be necessary.