Guy Rogers ENVIRONMENT TOURISM EDITOR

THE community organisation fighting the proposed mining of the northern Wild Coast has welcomed the ruling by the department of minerals and energy to suspend the mining right granted to Australian company Mineral Commodities (MRC).

The department granted a mining right to MRC in August for them to mine the Kwanyana block, the richest section of the Xolobeni site and comprising 30 per cent of it. The licence was scheduled for final ratification at the end of this month.

The Amadiba Crisis Committee then filed an appeal through the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in Grahamstown based on their charge that the local people, including the king and queen of Eastern Pondoland, had not been properly consulted on the project.

The LRC warned that it would take the matter to court if the project was not suspended by October 1, to allow for this consultation to take place.

The department responded last week, saying the project had been “put on hold” to allow for this to happen. Attorney Sarah Sephton, of the LRC, confirmed that the centre had received a letter from Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica to this effect.

“In it, the minister said the mining right issued to MRC and its SA partner Transworld Energy and Minerals (TEM) will not come into effect on October 31. This is so that the minister can consult with King (Mpondombini) Sigcau, Queen MaSobhuza (Sigcau) and Chief (Lunga) Baleni and hold oral hearings where the LRC will represent the Amadiba community and make legal submissions on why the minister should withdraw the decision to allow mining at Xolobeni.”

Sephton said it was not yet clear where the consultations would take place.

“The meeting with the king and queen will presumably be in their residence in Pondoland. We will be representing the crisis committee in an informal court situation, probably in Durban. We‘re hopeful the minister is now taking this very seriously and that she will overturn the right that the department has awarded.”

Amadiba Crisis Committee spokesman Mzamo Dlamini said the statement by the minister was to be welcomed.

“She has now apologised to the people for the poor consultation around this project and the bad behaviour of the Australians. Hopefully, DME will go back now and do what they should have done first which is to consult the people.”

The crisis committee represented about 5000 people who lived in five villages between the Mtentu and Mzamba rivers where the proposed mining site was, he said.

“There are a few who are confused, but the rest are against this mining. There are none who are for it.”

TEM and MRC operations chief John Barnes was not available for comment, nor was minerals and energy spokesman Bheki Khumalo.

Posted on October 7th, 2008
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