Quality of BAR | Other concerns | Generic response
Concerns regarding the quality of the bar
- Contrary to what is required by law, the BAR does not contain a single specialist study. Despite the total failure of the EAP to engage with specialists (e.g. environmental, social, hydrology, etc.), he concludes that the proposed prospecting should go ahead. This can only be based on a subjective and biased opinion, as he presents no real data to back up his assessment.
- There are several flaws in the report (e.g. referring to diamonds instead of gold) that indicate this is merely a ‘copy-paste’ exercise.
- The EAP has not undertaken a single public participation meeting. Neither the farmers, the farm workers, nor the residents from Napier have been engaged by the EAP at all throughout the Public Participation process.
- The BAR notes that the envisaged mine will not provide jobs to local workers, as it will be necessary to bring in specialised workers with special skills. Following on from this point, the report then confirms the fears of most Napier residents and farmers: that irrespective of the specific skills required to work on the mine, an influx of job-seekers is highly likely, resulting in substantial increases in local crime rates.
- Furthermore, the report does nothing to address the increasing pressure on municipal infrastructure and services that will result from an influx of mine employees and job-seekers, should this develop into a full scale opencast mine.
Concerns regarding the proposed prospecting & / or intended mining activities
- The impacts of dust and chemical pollution, as well as erosion of our rivers, water resources, natural fynbos / renosterveld and farmlands will reach far beyond the direct footprint of the intended mine.
- Dust and pollution will have a negative impact over many kilometres, impacting human health and the quality of our natural resources.
- The impacts of 4000 ha of intended open cast mine on the local tourism industry, as well as the productivity of food-producing farms, will be extremely negative, having detrimental effects on the local economy.
- Negative impacts on the economy typically result in job losses which in turn result in increased crime.
- Municipal infrastructure and services in the Napier area and surrounds are already lacking: any intended mine will require more water and other municipal services, while heavy traffic and heavy machinery will place immense pressure on our roads.
Generic Response
If you feel too overwhelmed to submit your own response, you can copy and paste this GENERIC RESPONSE (please include your own details):
COPY FROM HERE >
I, ______ (your name), resident of _______ (town or area of residence), hereby object to the proposed prospecting right application submitted by Cienth (Pty) Ltd, for the prospecting of gold, silver and tin on various farms, near Napier, under departmental reference: WC 30/5/1/1/2/10464 PR. I have numerous concerns about the likely impacts on our environment and water resources, our health, our local economy (in particular, the tourism industry) and our safety. None of these potential impacts were adequately addressed in the draft Basic Assessment Report prepared by Takalani Environmental Consultancy (the EAP), nor was there any attempt from the EAP to undertake public participation with any of the landowners or other Interested and Affected Parties. The application process is therefore flawed and should not receive any further consideration from the relevant government authorities.
< TO HERE
and email to this info@tecon.co.za & takalani@tecon.co.za
(please copy the email to help@savetheoverberg.com)
To understand the impact of the proposed mining activity on the region, take a look here. This is a Google Earth image of an opencast gold mine in Patagonia. While this gold mine in Patagonia has as 10 000-hectare footprint, the image above is about 4 000 hectares, the same size as the mine proposed in the Overberg. The dark spots are the deep trenches found in this active opencast gold mine. These trenches are hundreds of metres in depth. MORE HERE
Media
In the News
Save the Overberg fighting to prevent mining in the area
[EWN]
Mystery still surrounds plan to find gold in the Overberg
[FINANCIAL MAIL]
The value of guarding Cape Agulhas’ precious natural resources
[HERALD LIVE]