WILD COAST MINING – FOREIGN MINING COMPANY GAMBLES WITH THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S RURAL POOR.

For from providing further clarity on the proposed mining on the Wild coast, a recent focus group meeting held at Port Edward between SWC and GCS, the consultants undertaking the ‘Xolobeni mining’ EIA, has raised more questions than ever about the legitimacy of the mining process.

The meeting revealed a huge lack of detail in the planning domain, making it exceedingly difficult for the public get a clear idea of exactly what the project entailed, or of any impacts it might have.

‘It is hugely worrying that a foreign mining company is gambling with the livelihoods and future of numerous rural communities and one of South Africa’s most pristine natural resource treasures, without seemingly having any clear idea of exactly what it is that they intend to do?’ says Val Payn, a spokesperson for Sustaining the Wild Coast. ‘This in addition to recent questions that have arisen about the legal legitimacy of the mining application process, through DME and MRC apparently omitting to obtain the necessary authorizations from the relevant environmental authorities prior to prospecting.’

The meeting revealed that a mineral separation plant (MSP) and smelter is no longer being included as an option in the design process. Local municipalities had hoped the inclusion of a MSP and smelter would bring increased job opportunities for the region. Plans now appear to involve raw mineral ore being trucked to Durban for export. Trucking will involve 24 trucks a day, weighing forty tons each, traveling on national roads.

‘Many local people who supported the mining felt that the inclusion of a smelter and MSP would create job opportunities. With 22kms of community land being ripped open for mining and so lost to other uses, the 200 menial jobs for 25 years that the mining will create seems pitiful. In comparison a single well established holiday camp at Port St Johns that covers eight hectares of land provides 350 jobs in perpetuity.

One also has to question how local road infrastructures are going to cope with this volume and weight of tonnage being transported on a daily basis. Are local taxpayers going to foot the bill to upgrade the R61 and the Port Edward suspension bridge to a carrying capacity that allows 40 ton vehicles, so that foreign companies can loot the resources of the under-developed Eastern Cape? Or are MRC relying on the Wild Coast toll road being built, in which case how is this going to impact on the already congested Durban metro roads if a new toll gate is built at Jacobs?

Lack of design detail was apparent in a number of spheres, ranging from uncertainty as to where the large quantities of water needed for the wet dredging operation would be sourced, to the eventual destination of the raw mineral ore, to the location of the tailings dam.

It emerged that the lack of design detail was a result of the applicant being reluctant to go to the expense of detailed planning until they had obtained mining application rights. It was also admitted that TEM ( the local subsidiary of MRC) had planned to do a number of impact studies (such as water reservoirs, roads, and housing impacts) post mining rights being granted, although these have now been slotted into the limited 3 month timeframe of the EIA upon insistence by DME. The limited time to do the extra studies has seen GCS apply for an extension for the EIA from DME, although this has not yet been authorized.

The wet extraction process will require 15 million cubic metres of water /annum. To provide this, a dam capable of holding 1 million cubic metres of water is required. There is no clarity where the dam site will be. The only information available is that a couple of sites are being considered upstream, either on the Mtentu, the Mnyameni or the Mzamba rivers. Many local communities rely on water from these rivers for crops, cattle and household use. The river gorges also contain exceedingly rare endemic plants. Any fall in water levels due to damming could compromise communities’ abilities to obtain water, and might result in the extinction of endemic species such as the Pondo Palm.

The Mtentu River is one of only two sites in the world where the endangered Pondoland Palm grows wild along the river bank. The Pondoland Palm has very specific germination requirements needing constantly moist, cool soil so any change in river levels due to damming could affect germination and lead to extinction. It is not clear whether the National Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, who are responsible for the issue of the relevant water extraction permits, have even been consulted.

‘One really has to question who this mining is going to benefit, for it certainly seems that it is going to bring negligible benefits to locals. It remains to be seen if authorities will allow the pillaging of Eastern Cape and South African natural resources for the benefit of foreign companies, in contravention of legislation drawn to protect the region. Far from helping development, the conflict that mining is causing seems to be delaying the implementation of far more suitable developments in the region that would bring real opportunities to local communities.’

Posted on September 27th, 2007
Filed under: Current Issues, Press Releases