Your right arthur, the mining permit is the key. I'm not sure...

Your right arthur, the mining permit is the key.

I'm not sure about your statement as to whether the greenies have a good case though. Even if they do, it is probably irrelevant given that the SA government is rife with corrupt officials. The SA media may be motivated by environmental idealism but the SA government is driven by hard currency. There are recent examples where the SA government granted mining permits despite environmental controversy. This will be no different.

The Minister for the Environment has recently been proclaiming his intentions to declare a Pondoland National Park by the end of the year. This might simply be grandstanding on his part given that SA recently hosted the World Parks conference. The greenies themselves suspect the Minister for the Environment is only paying lip service to the environmental cause.

A decision regarding the N2 toll road was supposed to have been announced by late June. The greenies suspect the announcement of this decision was delayed until after the World Parks Conference in order to avoid negative global publicity during the conference. The decision has now reportedly been delayed till mid-November.

The way I see it panning out, the N2 will get the go ahead and the route will bypass MRC’s proposed mine site. To appease the greenies a Pondoland National Park may get declared but it will not incorporate any of the areas covered by MRC’s mining site. MRC will get their mining permit.