State will not grant winelands mining approval
The Department of Mineral Resources would not approve the controversial application by state-owned mining company African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation to prospect and possibly mine in the Western Cape winelands, director-general Sandile Nogxina said earlier this week.
His reassurance that the application was not going anywhere — made in an interview ahead of a parliamentary briefing — will please wine farmers, residents and environmental groups who mobilised to oppose the bid as far as the courts, if necessary.
Despite the furore, mining group CEO Sizwe Madondo last week insisted the company would not withdraw the application, and said it was up to the department to accept or reject it.
The group applied for rights to prospect for, and possibly mine, tin, zinc, lead, lithium, copper, manganese and silver in areas used by wine growers.
However, Nogxina was confident the mining group would withdraw the application, which he said was simply based on a geological map of the area around Stellenbosch rather than an in-depth knowledge of the way the land was being used.
Seven wine estates were potentially affected by the application — including Hooggelegen, De Grendel, Langverwacht and Haasendal.
“We have been trying to understand what has happened there,” Nogxina said. “From the information we have, it appears that the company looked at the geological map and looked at the mineralisation of the area and discovered that these were areas that had the potential for mineral deposits.
“We knew from the very beginning that the process, which is ingrained in the act itself, would not have allowed a situation where mining would take place on a farm on which an operation is ... taking place. Those people discovered during a consultative process that these were vineyards — after the application had been lodged.
“Definitely the application is not going anywhere, as, if mining went ahead, we would have to expropriate those farms and the operations. I am sure that they will withdraw their application. They did not know that there were vineyards there when they made the application — they just used a geological map.”
Nogxina said an application to mine land under agricultural production would never be granted as the government had to balance the interests of the exploitation of mineral resources with food security. “Land use has to cater for both. The land is being used for food security and there is no way we can interfere with that. We are a responsible government after all.”
He insisted the department would not give favourable treatment to state-owned mining companies, several of whose applications had already been rejected as they failed to comply with the law.
Regarding government plans to establish a state-owned mining company, Nogxina said the Cabinet would be given the outcome of the audit of state-owned assets in the mining industry together with the proposed steps which should be taken to set up the company. “We plan to go (to the) Cabinet before June because the audit is complete now,” he said.
Source: Business Day
Source: I-Net Bridge
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