Image: Janus Brink [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0], via Flickr
Exploration ban aims to preserve conditions scientists say are crucial for research
South Africa’s science minister has closed a legal loophole that allowed mining companies to prospect for minerals at one of the country’s protected astronomy sites.
On 17 August, Blade Nzimande published an amendment to a 2019 declaration regulating activities at the Sutherland Central Astronomy Advantage Area, which houses the Southern African Large Telescope and other smaller telescopes.
The area is governed by the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act from 2007, which seeks to protect areas in South Africa used for astronomy from activities that interfere with sensitive equipment. The 2019 declaration, made under the act, prohibited open-cast mining, mining dumps at ground level and hydraulic fracturing in the protected area, but did not restrict prospecting or exploration activities.
Scientists raised concerns about the loophole at a scientific meeting in Cape Town in August 2024, with Ramotholo Sefako, head of telescope operations at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) telescope, calling mineral prospecting in the Sutherland astronomy area “a nightmare”.
Closing the gaps
In January this year, Nzimande published a notice of intention to amend the declaration to limit mining-related activity in the Sutherland astronomy protected area. It is this amendment that has now been published.
The SAAO told Research Professional News it welcomed the revision. “This is an important strengthening of the protection of Sutherland’s exceptional night sky,” an SAAO spokesperson said. “It closes potential gaps in the existing framework and helps prevent activities that could generate significant dust and other impacts that threaten the conditions required for world-class astronomical research.
“The amendment also reinforces South Africa’s long-term commitment to protecting its strategic astronomy infrastructure and preserving Sutherland as a globally important site for astronomical research.”
