Guy Rogers ENVIRONMENT & TOURISM EDITOR

THE proposed Xolobeni dune mine on the Pondoland coast will have a
significant negative affect on local tourism, according to a draft
assessment of the mining project commissioned by the developer.

Undertaken by Johannesburg- based consultancy GCS, the draft
environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been made available for
public comment at various libraries and schools, and also online.

The proposed Xolobeni site is situated on the north-east tip of the
Eastern Cape coast in the Pondoland area of the Wild Coast. It
stretches 22km from the Mtentu River in the south to the Mzamba River
in the north.


The proponent of the project is Transworld Energy and Mineral
Resources (TEM), a subsidiary of the Australian mining company
Mineral Commodities (MRC).

TEM has applied to the minerals and energy department for a licence to
mine Xolobeni for the heavy minerals zircon, rutile, ilmenite and
leucoxene.

The deposits were formed around one million years ago when the sea
was at 120 metres above its current level. As the sea regressed it left
stranded heavy mineralised coastlines termed “strandlines”, the EIA
explains.

Ilmenite, rutile and leucoxene are used as a titanium feedstock, mainly
for the paint pigment industries, while zircon is used as a refractory
mineral in ceramic and specialty glass production (for example TV
glass).

In its examination of the effects of the proposed mine on tourism, the
EIA notes that “visual impact will be high for distances of 5km to 10km”
from the mining operations.

Tourists using the Wild Coast Hiking Trail, the day trail from the Wild
Coast Sun, the Mzamba canoeing and hiking trail and the established
tented camps will all be affected, the report says.

“Apart from local effects of topography it is likely that all the existing
camps will be highly impacted upon for the five-year phased mining
approach . . . the southern section of the mine will be visible for as much
as 7km inside the Mkambati Nature Reserve. The visual impact for all
the estuaries is expected to be extremely high, due to the contrast of the
mine with the high visual quality of the combination of water, cliffs,
slopes, vegetation and sand.”

The northern section of the mine will be as near as 3km to the Wild
Coast Sun and visible from the upper floors of the hotel, as well as from
some points on the golf course, the EIA notes.

“Where visibility will occur, the visual impact is expected to be very high
because of proximity to the mine and contrast between the high visual
Search our site quality of the Wild Coast Sun area and the mining activities.

“The negative perception of potential tourists who are aware of the mine
‘close‘ to the resort must also be noted in the visual impact.”

The EIA says that besides the visual impact of the mine on tourism,
noise and dust also presents problems as they “are not easily mitigated
against”.

The EIA assesses a number of other issues, including traffic impact in
which it focuses strongly on the controversial Wild Coast N2 toll road.

The public awareness and environmental coalition Sustaining the Wild
Coast, which is spearheading opposition to the mine, has long argued
that the proposed routing of the N2 through the internationally acclaimed
Pondoland floral hotspot, which they are also fighting, is linked to the
mine. The developer and the authorities have so far denied that there is
any link.

The EIA says, however, that the existing access road will not be able to
accommodate the traffic generated by the mining and will require
upgrading – unless the N2 is approved.

“Any restriction on the period of transportation of the mining product will
have a significant impact on the required infrastructure and will result in
the concentration of traffic during certain peak periods of travel.

“If the N2 Wild Coast toll highway is constructed, it will reduce the impact
of the Xolobeni project and also reduce the associated transportation
cost.

The EIA is available at libraries and schools in East London, Port Alfred,
Mthatha and Pondoland, and at www.xolobeni.co.za
The closing date for public comment is November 23.

Posted on November 14th, 2007
Filed under: Press Releases