Case Decision - 198893

Final Comment
The following comments are made as a requirement in terms of section 38(8) of the NHRA in the format provided in section 38(4) of the NHRA and must be included in the Final EMPr:

38(4)a – The SAHRA Archaeology, Palaeontology and Meteorites (APM) Unit and Burial Grounds and Graves (BGG) Unit has no objections to the proposed development;
38(4)b – The recommendations of the specialists are supported and must be adhered to. Further additional specific conditions are provided for the development as follows:
Monitoring of waste rock dumps by a qualified palaeontologist for any fossil heritage must be conducted every 3 months for the first 2 years of the additional underground mining activities. Monitoring reports must be submitted to SAHRA for review and comment;
BGG Unit conditions: The development footprint must be adjusted to avoid site GY16 with a buffer-zone of at least 100m. There must be frequent maintenance of the site. Where it not possible to implement the recommended buffer-zone, a proposal of a reasonable buffer that take into cognisance the principles of Heritage Resources Management must be submitted to SAHRA for consideration. Should grave exhumation and relocation  be the preferred mitigation measure, consultation in terms of the NHRA Regulations must be implemented to obtain consent from the next-of-kin(s) and SAHRA's permit for the relocation to take place The exhumation and relocation activities are carried out at the cost of the developer;
38(4)c(i) – If any evidence of archaeological sites or remains (e.g. remnants of stone-made structures, indigenous ceramics, bones, stone artefacts, ostrich eggshell fragments, charcoal and ash concentrations), fossils or other categories of heritage resources are found during the proposed development, SAHRA APM Unit (Natasha Higgitt/Phillip Hine 021 462 5402) must be alerted as per section 35(3) of the NHRA. Non-compliance with section of the NHRA is an offense in terms of section 51(1)e of the NHRA and item 5 of the Schedule;
38(4)c(ii) – If unmarked human burials are uncovered, the SAHRA Burial Grounds and Graves (BGG) Unit (Thingahangwi Tshivhase/Ngqabutho Madida 012 320 8490), must be alerted immediately as per section 36(6) of the NHRA. Non-compliance with section of the NHRA is an offense in terms of section 51(1)e of the NHRA and item 5 of the Schedule;
38(4)d – See section 51(1) of the NHRA regarding offences;
38(4)e – The following conditions apply with regards to the appointment of specialists:
i) If heritage resources are uncovered during the course of the development, a professional archaeologist or palaeontologist, depending on the nature of the finds, must be contracted as soon as possible to inspect the heritage resource. If the newly discovered heritage resources prove to be of archaeological or palaeontological significance, a Phase 2 rescue operation may be required subject to permits issued by SAHRA;
As the Final Amendment Motivation report has been submitted without including SAHRA comments, this comment must be forwarded directly to the competent authority for their consideration during the decision making process. Proof of the delivery and receipt thereof must be provided to SAHRA;
The decision regarding the EA application must be submitted to the SAHRIS application for record purposes.