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Stop Mining in the Winelands

Download the form to protest the government’s efforts to turn the Cape Winelands into the Cape Minelands here. We only have until tomorrow to offer concrete reasons for prospecting not to go ahead.

Any valid reason (cultural heritage, job losses, environmental, loss of business if a farms’ production area is disturbed etc) is worth putting down. This cannot just be a protest, otherwise the Department of Minerals and Energy will just discard it. One only has until the 9th March to register.

Jancis Robinson has put up an article regarding a state-owned mining company’s intentions to embark upon a prospecting campaign in the heart of the Cape Winelands. This will undoubtedly damage the winemaking and tourism equity of the region.

From Jancis’ article:

“Objections have to be filed by next Tuesday, 9 Mar. You can download a form on which to register a protest at this proposal here. Or you can email Renee Francis-Steele at reneef@gcs-sa.biz or Estie Retief at estie@gcs-sa.biz to express your concern. GCS is the environmental, water and consulting company engaged by AEMFC to advise on this project.”

There is also a facebook group: ‘STOP Mining our Winelands’, this from the group’s info section:

“African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) has applied for prospecting rights for tin, zinc, lead, lithium, copper, manganese and silver on the farms Annex Langverwacht 245 (which includes Saxenburg, Jordan, Langverwacht and Zevenwacht Estates), Haasendal 222 and the remaining extent of Rosendal 249. The Department of Mineral Resources has provisionally accepted these prospecting rights.

AEMFC is state-owned and funded by the Central Energy Fund. It has been exempted by the Minister of Minerals and Energy from many provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act in regard to prospecting rights, mining rights and mining permits. According to the Chamber of Mines these provisions normally require applicants to submit environmental management programmes and to consult with interested and affected parties.

To date, many of the landowners and most of the interested and affected parties have not been consulted nor received notification regarding the above prospecting rights and possible mining activities.

None of the farmers and landowners affected as well as their employees in the surrounding area wish the prospecting and mining activities to go ahead. Not only are these farms all members of the Bottelary Renosterbos Conservancy, but they do not wish to see their vineyards and farmland being bulldozed or disturbed in any way. Mining activities would inevitably impact on tourism while the lowering of production and quality of wines from the wine estates in the area would result in the loss of farming jobs. Property values in the surrounding area would decrease.”

Once again, the form to present objections is available here and MUST be submitted by tomorrow at the latest. Please let’s all get behind this issue while we still can.