Page 1 of 21 DESKTOP PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND CHANCE FIND PROTOCOL FOR THE PROPOSED NKOMAZI GAME RESERVE (PTY) LTD PROJECT. MACADAMIA FARMING ADJACENT TO NKOMAZI GAME RESERVE, NEAR TJAKASTAD, MPUMALANGA PROVINCE FOR CORE Environmental Services DATE: 13 December 2020 By Dr Gideon Groenewald Cell: 078 713 6377 Nkomazi Macadamia Agricultural Development CORE Environmental Services 13/12/2020 Page 2 of 21 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dr Gideon Groenewald was appointed to undertake a Desktop Palaeontological Assessment Survey and to develop a Chance Find Protocol document (CFP) for the proposed Nkomazi Game Reserve Macadamia Agricultural Project in the Albert Luthuli Local Municipality of the Gert Sibande District Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province. This Desktop Survey is done as preparation of a Chance Find Protocol since very large parts of this development fall in areas underlain by geological formations with a known low to very low sensitivity for Palaeontological Heritage. This Palaeontological Assessment forms part of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) and complies with the requirements of the South African National Heritage Resource Act No 25 of 1999 (revised 2017). In accordance with Section 38 of the National Resources Act No 25 of 1999 (Heritage Resources Management), a HIA is required to assess any potential impacts on Palaeontological Heritage within the development footprint. The development site applicable to the application for the proposed Nkomazi Game Reserve Macadamia Agricultural Project in the Albert Luthuli Local Municipality of the Gert Sibande District Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province is underlain by Swazian aged metamorphic rocks of the Barberton Supergroup and granites of the Kaap Valley Granite Suite. No significant fossils are expected from the areas underlain by granite. If by any chance, excavation expose fossils, it will be very important that a suitably qualified Palaeontological Specialist be appointed to do a Phase 1 PIA and to implement the Chance Find Protocol document included in this report (Appendix A). The CFP document must then be included as part of the EMPr of this project, to record all unexpected fossils associated with the geological formations on site. It is recommended that: • The EAP and ECO must be informed of the fact that a low and very low palaeontological sensitivity is allocated to the study area. Nkomazi Macadamia Agricultural Development CORE Environmental Services 14/12/2020 Page 3 of 21 • No further mitigation for Palaeontological Heritage is recommended. If, however, any observations of possible fossils are made, the developer must appoint a suitably qualified palaeontologist to implement the Chance Find Protocol (Appendix A). Nkomazi Macadamia Agricultural Development CORE Environmental Services 14/12/2020 Page 4 of 21 TABLE OF CONTENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENT .......................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 6 Legal Requirements ................................................................... 6 Aims and Methodology ............................................................... 7 Scope and Limitations of the Desktop Study ................................................ 10 Proposed Development ............................................................ 11 GEOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 12 Barberton Supergoup ................................................................................... 13 Onverwacht Group ........................................................................................ 13 Tjakastad Subgroup (Zt) ........................................................... 13 Geluk Subgroup ........................................................................ 14 Moodies Group ............................................................................................. 14 Kaap Valley Granite ...................................................................................... 14 PALAEONTOLOGY ............................................................................................ 14 Barberton Supergoup ................................................................................... 14 Onverwacht Group ........................................................................................ 14 Tjakastad Subgroup (Zt) ........................................................... 14 Geluk Subgroup ........................................................................ 15 Moodies Group ............................................................................................. 15 Kaap Valley Granite ...................................................................................... 15 PALAEONTOLOGICAL IMPACT AND MITIGATION ......................................... 15 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 17 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 18 QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF THE AUTHOR ............................... 19 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ............................................................... 19 Appendix A: Chance Find Protocol ..................................................................... 20 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1. Locality of the Study Area for the Nkomazi Game Reserve Agricultural Project delineated in yellow polygons .......................... 12 Figure 2 Geology of the region where the Nkomazi Game Reserve Project is planned ........................................................................... 12 Figure 3 Geological Legend ................................................................... 13 Figure 4. Summary of known recordings of Palaeontological Heritage elements in the Barberton Supergoup (Groenewald et al, 2014) .... 16 Figure 5 Palaeontological sensitivity of the rock formations underlying the Nkomazi Game Reserve (Pty) Ltd agricultural development area ....................................................................................................... 17 Nkomazi Macadamia Agricultural Development CORE Environmental Services 14/12/2020 Page 5 of 21 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Palaeontological sensitivity analysis outcome classification .... 8 Nkomazi Macadamia Agricultural Development CORE Environmental Services 14/12/2020 Page 6 of 21 INTRODUCTION Dr Gideon Groenewald was appointed to undertake a Desktop Palaeontological Assessment Survey and to develop a Chance Find Protocol document (CFP) for the proposed Nkomazi Game Reserve Macadamia Agricultural Project in the Albert Luthuli Local Municipality of the Gert Sibande District Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province. This Desktop Survey is done as preparation of a Chance Find Protocol since very large parts of this development fall in areas underlain by geological formations with a known low to very low sensitivity for Palaeontological Heritage. Legal Requirements This Palaeontological Assessment forms part of the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) and complies with the requirements of the South African National Heritage Resource Act No 25 of 1999 (revised 2017). In accordance with Section 38 of the National Resources Act No 25 of 1999 (Heritage Resources Management), a HIA is required to assess any potential impacts on Palaeontological Heritage within the development footprint. Categories of heritage resources recognised as part of the National Estate in Section 3 of the Heritage Resources Act, and which therefore fall under its protection, include: • geological sites of scientific or cultural importance; • objects recovered from the soil or waters of South Africa, including archaeological and palaeontological objects and material, meteorites and rare geological specimens; and • objects with the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of South Africa’s natural or cultural heritage. It is an explicit statement in terms of this report, that the developer is aware of important geological features in this region and that the known geo-sites are being avoided with no impact that will cause damage to known geological heritage sites in this region. Nkomazi Macadamia Agricultural Development CORE Environmental Services 14/12/2020 Page 7 of 21 Aims and Methodology A desktop investigation is often the only opportunity to record the fossil heritage within the development footprint. These records are very important to understand the past and form an important part of South Africa’s National Estate. Following the “SAHRA APM Guidelines: Minimum Standards for the Archaeological & Palaeontological Components of Impact Assessment Reports” the aims of the Palaeontological Impact Assessment are: • to identify exposed and subsurface rock formations that are considered to be palaeontologically significant; • to assess the level of palaeontological significance of these formations; • to comment on the impact of the development on these exposed and/ or potential fossil resources and • to make recommendations as to how the developer should conserve or mitigate damage to these resources. Prior to a field investigation, a preliminary assessment (Desktop Study) of the topography and geology of the study area is made, using appropriate 1:250 000 geological