08/03: Mining the Cape Winelands, Stellenbosch, Cape Town
The recent media hype in respect of possible mining
in the most fertile agricultural land in the Western Cape need addressing:
The fact of the matter is that there are no economically viable deposits of tin or other minerals over the area for which AEMFC (African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation)are applying.
What AEMFC are applying for is a prospecting permit and not a permit to mine.
(This implies at most , even if a right was granted, only trenching would be done,but more likely just drilling)
The fact that an application has been accepted by the Dept Mineral Resources (DMR) means very little. A full EMP (Environmental Management Plan) and EIA ( Environmental Impact Assessment) process has to be followed whereby public participation forms a major part.
The huge backlash by Interested and Affected Parties will certainly have a BIG waiting factor against the approval of any right.
This is a very costly exercise so any organisation would basically know that they are throwing money into a black hole,by persuing such an application.
