Mining the Wild Coast

Chat now on WhatsApp

After last week's blog article on mining and the threat it poses to our natural resources, I received a very disturbing email from a friend of mine, Bridgette Duffey. Bridgette and her partners, Russel Hartshorne and Andrew Werner, have started a joint ecotourism venture in the Pondoland area of the Wild Coast. As an aquatic ecologist, I know these areas have some of the last remaining pristine estuarine and coastal forest habitats within South Africa, and need to be preserved. They have reopened the Mtentu River Lodge, which has been dormant after a decade of threatening titanium mining left the lodge and many others lying idle.The AmaDiba community won a presidential award for its community-run tourism operations but, after the titanium mining debacle, all the hard work to reach this goal was undone. Lodges were left empty and the community's drive for ecotourism was halted by pressure form the mine to implement new practices, which were promised to yield big returns. The mine hired a local community representative to convince the community that mining was the way to go, and the ecotourism drive was stunted. This is a perfect example of a rich mining company moving into a rural area, with all its propaganda, promises and corrupting influence ruining well thought out and operating community based ecotourism. Mining companies do not care, as long as they get what they want, make huge profits, and then leave.The remaining land is useless for sustainable agriculture, livestock and the ecotourism practices. In other words, the local communities are left with nothing, after being promised everything. The long-term benefits of sustainable ecotourism practices far outweigh the benefits associated with short term titanium mining, for all parties concerned.

Basically, a brief outline of this debacle should be mentioned. After the AmaDiba community won the presidential award for its community-run tourism operations, the Australian mining company (MRC) moved in and ascertained the mineral rights to the ancestral lands. This was awarded in 2008 by former director-general of the Mineral Resources Department, Sandile Nogxina. Initially, the rights were awarded as the local communities were bypassed with incorrect information, propaganda and corrupt mining and local officials. The full extent of what the mining would encompass and the devastation it would bring to their ancestral lands was not fully explained. A clear case of what mining companies do all over the world to acquire pristine land from local communities, mine it and then leave it a decrepit, irreparable state. Luckily, the new minister, Susan Shabangu, has cancelled the mining rights awarded to MRC, and as such the debacle seems to have been solved.However, in the three months MRC has had to object (ending in October), the lodge owners and communities have been badgered, pestered and openly intimidated by mining officials and corrupt local communities on the payroll of the mine. A common and cowardly tactic, the mining corporations will corrupt local officials with the lure of money and power, and get them to do the dirty work. In an article in the Times newspaper on Tuesday, August 16th 2011, Nonhle Mbuthuma describes the situation further, but form a local community’s point of view. She explains how the communities have won back their respect and how, hopefully, this mining saga is over and done with. She also explains that if the secrecy bill had been implemented already, information available on the matter would not have been freely available, and the mining would have most likely have gone through - an interesting point of consideration adding to the current fight regarding the freedom of information in our country.

At the end of the day, this type of situation is happening all over Africa, as well as within South African borders. The fight for the sustainable utilisation of our resources and pristine lands should continue, so that local communities, biodiversity and conservation are the ultimate winners, not the power hungry, money grabbing mining companies that offer only a short term solution. People like Bridgette, Andrew and Russell should be commended on their actions, as well as all the community members fighting against the mining company and the ways in which they operate. Let’s hope that this is the end of the matter, that the mining rights remain the property of the community and are never implemented.Is the immediate employment of hundreds or thousands of South Africans worth the environmental sacrifice implied by unscrupulous mines? Are there pros and cons? What do you think? Leave us a comment!

More Stories from Archive

Customer Testimonials

4.9
out of 5 based on
Dec 12, 2024
Anja Is A Fabulous Travel Consultant
Anja Mayer was extremely knowledgeable, patient, prompt with her responses to questions, and always very helpful. She was also a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend to anyone that asks that Anja is the right person to contact if they are interested in travelling to South Africa or Botswana.
Lewis Warren
,
US
Dec 12, 2024
Anja did a fabulous job!
Anja was knowledgeble, patient prompt with her responses to questions and always very helpful. In addition, it was a pleasure working with her. I would recommend her to anyone without any reservation.
Lewis Warren
,
US
Dec 10, 2024
Mel du Toit was the perfect person to…
Mel du Toit was the perfect person to arrange and organize our trip!! She was on the ball, made sure everything was in place and travel arrangements secured! I highly recommend her!!
JUDITH ANN
,
US
Dec 9, 2024
Great support from Shann
Shann made the booking experience seamless - provided very helpful information to ensure we fully understood what the experience would be like and made sure we felt safe with experiences we have booked.
SUE And Bryson STEIN
,
AU
Dec 9, 2024
Quick & efficient
Very fast response, polite - impressive
Eduardo Rocha
,
BR
Dec 7, 2024
Went through Newmarket travel and Hays…
Went through Newmarket travel and Hays travel ..information about flight changes hard to get..but on arrival the holiday was taken over Safari.com..amazing ..experience everything was fine tuned and the staff ..guides drivers fabulous and friendly ..lots of knowledge..lots of fun and the surprises they did was so lovely ...loved every minute ..Paris our guide was amazing..10/10 and Eric driver ..the waiters and waitress every and everyone in the hotels .smiling and friendly..Best holiday of my life
Gillian Dodsworth
,
GB
Dec 7, 2024
Anja at Safari.com was a great partner to work with!
Working with Anja at Safari.com was great. She was able to work some magic and got us a few nights at the safari lodge we really wanted, Ngoma. Unfortunately, our flight from the USA to South Africa was canceled and we were rebooked a day later but Anja was great about making sure our lodge and the transports knew about the change in plans and made sure we got to our trip as soon as we could. She was a great partner to have and communicated quickly whenever we reached out. I would highly recommend using her when planning a trip to Africa!
Joanna
,
US
Dec 4, 2024
Prompt & knowledgeable
Prompt & knowledgeable
Scott Millar
,
ZA
Dec 4, 2024
Great service from Denise at Safari.com
Denise from Safari.com was extremely helpful. She responded promptly, provided good advice on safari lodgings options and worked up a couple of itinerary options to suit our budget. Denise also organised flights and transfers very quickly so that we could finalize our booking in a short time. Much appreciated.
Noelene Hosking
,
AU