A controversial application to prospect and mine for gold, silver and tin in the environmentally sensitive Agulhas area of the Western Cape has been put on hold — for now. But the secrecy surrounding the applicant — and associates — leaves many questions unanswered and the economic future of the area, which relies heavily on agriculture and tourism, uncertain.
The district at the centre of the dispute between the prospecting and mining applicant Cienth and objectors is close to the southernmost point of Africa, near the town of Napier. If prospecting and subsequent opencast mining are given the green light, opponents of the application say the excavations — roughly equivalent to the size of 300 rugby fields initially — will have a devastating effect on tourism, hospitality, agriculture and surrounding communities.
Little is known about the applicant. The company does not have a website. But a Companies & Intellectual Property Commission search reveals its sole director, Rosy Mvala, is a director of about 87 other companies. Her only publicly available e-mail address is a Gmail account and no responses to questions were forthcoming.
The company responsible for the environmental impact assessment and overseeing the prospecting application is Lwethuma Environmental Consultants. It also has no website. Director McDonald Mdluli says: “The project has been put on hold as per instructions from our client [Cienth]. The contract is frozen. No final decision has been made on a way forward but the company cannot continue with the project without relaunching its application. Cienth has to notify the department of mineral resources & energy [DMRE] and issue a withdrawal letter or let the existing application lapse.”
Lwethuma was appointed after its predecessor managing the assessment, Theva Sustainable Services — also no website — withdrew. The company’s environmental practitioner, Kananelo Kotjane, said: “I definitely don’t have time for that story,” and ended the call. Further attempts to contact her were unsuccessful.
It is difficult under these circumstances to establish the credentials of the organisations involved in the application.
Geological consultancy Minrom, appointed by Cienth to assess the viability of mining in the area, is unable to comment on the financial viability of the proposed operation or its potential yields. It can only do so once prospecting rights have been granted.
Mining can’t replace the number of jobs that would be lost by the tourism and agricultural sectors
— André Morgenthal
Says CEO Oscar van Antwerpen: “As an advisory consultancy, information [about its relationship with its client Cienth] is protected by a nondisclosure agreement.”
Elsaine Rabie, the environmental legal consultant appointed by the Napier Agricultural Association, says Cienth’s application expires on November 23.
“A prospecting right needs a basic assessment process, whereas a mining right needs a scoping and environmental impact assessment process,” she says.
“The application was submitted to the DMRE on August 24, which means, for the applicant to adhere to the time frames as set out in the environmental impact assessment regulations, they must provide the department with a final basic assessment report on November 23. The report must have been subjected to a minimum 30-day commenting period.
“Registered interested and affected parties received no information for comment during the application window, which is a legal requirement in order for an application to proceed. The existing application will lapse, and an entirely new application will have to be submitted to restart the process,” says Rabie.
The Agulhas Wine Triangle (AWT), an organisation representing the region’s wine cellars and estates, says opencast mining in the area would have a destructive effect.
AWT project manager André Morgenthal says key objections centre on food security, wine tourism, job security and environmental impact.
“If the prospecting application is granted, the chances are strong that mining will follow — that happens in 87% of cases. Damage to the region’s aquifer (rock or sediment that holds groundwater) is inevitable, crops are likely to be ruined by dust, and tourism — a big employer — will be badly affected. Who wants to drink wine near a mining pit?
“Hardest hit will be the local communities which rely on employment opportunities from the area’s tourism businesses and farms.
“There is no upside for employment from mining,” says Morgenthal. “If you look at the balance, the negatives totally outweigh the one positive of possible job creation. You’re giving with one hand and taking with the other. Mining can’t replace the number of jobs that would be lost by the tourism and agricultural sectors.”
Prospecting and mining permissions are likely to be authorised for many years and mining companies are usually backed by organisations with deep pockets.
“Don’t underestimate the resistance,” says Morgenthal. “We have significant resources to see things through and protect the environment, communities, farmers, the local economy and workers.”
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