Conservation: Wild Coast dune mining will not be stopped – official
Feelings are running high in the unresolved saga over mining in Xolobeni, Transkei, notes E-Brief News. Thirteen years ago a strong environmental campaign saved the St Lucia dunes from being mined, but this time the Minerals and Energy Department (DME) will not be swayed by public opinion, a senior official said. ‘The St Lucia decision was a political decision that had the ANC’s support,’ said Jacinto Rocha, the department’s Deputy Director-General. ‘At Xolobeni it is significantly different’. According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, Rocha, explaining last month’s decision to grant the Australian company Mineral Commodities the right to strip-mine a 22km stretch on the Wild Coast, said the region, one of the poorest in SA, needs mining desperately. He said the mining consortium’s application was faultless and the department had no reason to refuse it – in fact, it could have been sued if it did so without good reason. Activists from the NGO, Sustaining the Wild Coast, challenged Rocha’s claims. Its director, John Clarke, said there were huge problems with the consultation process and the behaviour of the Australian company. There have been numerous reports of intimidation and foul play during the mining application process, prompting the SA Human Rights Commission’s intervention. However, despite the huge public backlash, it appears opponents of mining were caught napping. Rocha said the department had not received a single objection during the 30-day objections period. ‘They are making a big noise outside, but they did not make the right noises through the right channels,’ he said.
Mail & Guardian Online report
See also a report in the Sunday Independent

However, the five Pondoland communities opposing the project haven’t given up, and will take their case to the High Court if the government presses on with its decision to award a mining licence, a community spokesperson said. The Herald notes that Amadiba Crisis Committee spokesperson Mzamo Dlamini said the committee’s decision followed a long overdue visit by the DME to the Amadiba royal house on 20 August. ‘We have been unable find one good example anywhere in the world that shows a positive impact on the quality of life of traditional rural communities after large-scale mining developments has displaced people. The only benefits that come from mining are concentrated in the hands of the few wealthy businessmen and powerful politicians, while the people whose ancestral land has been destroyed have been left worse off,’ he said.
Full report in The Herald

And feelings continue to run high – so high that urgent leadership intervention from the government, mining representatives and community stakeholders is required to prevent violent conflict over the project. According to a Cape Argus report, this call came from an independent consultant to the Australian mining company and the head of the Crime Prevention unit in the area, Superintendent Herbert Mbana. Environmental consultant Tony Barbour and a colleague were chased out of the area last week after being threatened by villagers whose land stands to be expropriated and homes destroyed to make way for the Xolobeni venture. Mbana said tensions over the mining had risen in the past few weeks, requiring a visible police presence and daily police patrols. This follows the visit two weeks ago by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica to announce that the project was going ahead. Protesters complained about a lack of consultation and offers of compensation to local people when the Minister visited the area.

Posted on September 3rd, 2008
Filed under: Articles