The Zululand District Municipality has called on authorities to revoke anthracite producer ZAC’s mining license.

This after the mine reported that it experienced a spill of slurry material into a river in Okhukho village after the collapse of the dam wall.

The dam capacity is 3183 square metres and it is estimated that half of the stored slurry material spilled into the Mvalo River.

Zululand Municipal spokesperson Zanele Mthethwa, “It must be noted that the municipality is at the core of protecting the environment and people’s health and the municipality has invested more than R30 million into water infrastructure, therefore, we will not allow ZAC to exploit the community of Okhukho by poisoning their water.”

Meanwhile, ZAC says in a statement that immediately after the spill, all pumping to the slurry ponds was stopped.

It says the end wall of the slurry pond was rebuilt and is awaiting a professional engineer’s certification.

The company says it is working with relevant government departments to ensure that all legal requirements are met.