Page 59 - State of Biodiversity 2023-2024

Other legal requirements for legal sand mining include (but not limited to) the following:
1. Prior Planning approval from the relevant local government authority, in this case eThekwini Municipality.
2. Written landowner consent.
3. A license from the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment where indigenous forest trees, or protected trees will be cleared.
Commencing with mining activities without the above- mentioned or any other applicable requirements or mining outside the authorised mining area constitute illegal sand mining.
Where to report illegal sand mining?
The DMRE and the DWS are the competent authorities mandated with enforcing compliance against illegal sand mining.
Contact details for reporting sand mining are as follows:
1. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy: email - NEMAComplaints@dmre.gov.za
2. The National Department of Water and Sanitation: email - MabuzaZ@dws.gov.za
When reporting illegal sand mining, residents are encouraged to provide the following details:
• Property description or address of the site where mining in taking place
• GPS coordinates, where available
• River name where mining is taking place within a river
• Details of the person undertaking the mining activity,
if available.
“Illegal sand mining is conducted without authorisation by legally mandated authorities including, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), and the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).”
STATE OF BIODIVERSITY REPORT 2023/2024 57