Heritage Cases

The Gamagara Local Municipality (Gamagara Municipality) proposes to extend the cemetery of the town of Kathu. The Kathu Cemetery is located approximately 3.5 km north-east of central Kathu on the remaining extent of the farm Uitkoms 463 (immediately East of the N14 road), and falls within the Gamagara Municipality and John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, in the Northern Cape. The Kathu Cemetery will be extended by 5 hectares (ha) to the south on land owned by the Sishen Iron Ore Company (Pty) Ltd (SIOC). The cemetery is nearing capacity and the extension is necessary due to saturated cemetery facilities, and the rapid expansion of the town of Kathu which is partly due to the resettlement of the Dingleton residents. SIOC is in the process of relocating the town of Dingleton, situated immediately west of the current Sishen Iron Ore Mine (Sishen Mine) pit, to the phase 4 (f-h) development on the farm Sekgame 461 directly south-east of Kathu. The 5 ha cemetery extension will be transferred to the Gamagara Municipality though a land swap agreement as part of the Dingleton Resettlement project. An environmental basic assessment is required in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA, No 107 of 1998) as amended, and the EIA Regulations (Government Notice Regulation (GNR) 982 – 985, published 4 December 2014). Notice is hereby given that the Gamagara Municipality will be submitting an application for the Extension of the Kathu Cemetery to the Department of Environment and Nature Conservation (DENC) as the competent authority.