Wild Coast mining uproar

2004-05-03 08:23

Craig Bishop

Pietermaritzburg - The Pondoland royal family has threatened to take the department of mineral affairs and energy to court over the proposed 22km Wild Coast heavy mineral mining operation.

This follows the confirmation last week that Australian mining company Mineral Commodities has been awarded a mineral lease by the Department.

Pondoland's Queen MaSobhuza Sigcau said that neither she nor her husband, King Justice Mpondombini Sigcau, were consulted about the mining operation, which would see hundreds of families evicted from ancestral land, as well as the destruction of the region's natural beauty and ecotourist potential.

The lease paves the way for Mineral Commodities' subsidiary company, Transworld Energy and Minerals Resources (SA), to proceed with the necessary studies required to apply for a mining right, according to Mineral Commodities' CEO Alan Luscombe.

This would be the second investment by Mineral Commodities in South Africa. The other is at Tormin mine on the West Coast where subsidiary company Bateman Minerals is conducting a feasibility study that will be completed in September.

Xolobeni has the potential to produce 150 000 units of ilmenite (used in the fabric and cosmetic industries) per annum out of the 346-million ton deposit, which would position it as the world's 10th largest heavy mineral producer.

Ecotourism

However, critics, including the director of the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Southern Africa, Cathy Kay, have warned that this project will destroy the unique Wild Coast sand dune ecology and diminish the region's ecotourism potential. They say that the lifespan of the mine would be less than 20 years, whereas ecotourism could last indefinitely.

Along with the mining, there are plans for a potential R1.3bn development, including a separate mineral separation plant and a downstream smelter, to be based in East London.

"We cannot allow people to be moved from their ploughed fields and grazing lands to make way for a mine that will completely destroy the environment. The Pondos have a history of being sidelined so we are putting our foot down," Queen Sigcau said.

Although the company has indicated that it will now prepare an environmental impact assessment (EIA), conservationists have slammed the department's decision, claiming that the decision to allow the N2 toll road has, in effect, already given tacit approval for the mining project.

This is despite statements by the national Environmental Affairs and Tourism Director-General Dr Chippy Olver, who said last December that he was "vehemently opposed" to Wild Coast mining, since it would prevent ecotourism.

"The frenzied race is on for South Africa's last vestige of wilderness. This despite the fact that no final decision has been given on the toll road. One thing is for sure - nothing will ever be the same again along the Wild Coast," Kay warned.

- The Witness