Communities in South Africa’s Eastern Cape are opposing a proposed heavy mineral sands mine that a South African company wants permission to operate day and night for 30 years on their communal land.They say the land targeted for mining is far from unused, supporting more than a 1,000 cattle, traditional medicine gathering, tourism and facilitates access to the coast and fishing.The villagers say that if the mine goes ahead, it will damage livelihoods, ancestral graves, biodiversity and water resources.The planned mine could also impact their long-running campaign to acquire commercial seaweed harvesting permits and an existing small-scale sand mining business run by a village committee.
PHOZI VILLAGE, South Africa — On a grassy mountainside overlooking the Indian Ocean on South Africa’s Eastern Cape coast, dozens of cattle graze freely. For generations, families in the small rural villages of Tyolomnqa, Phozi, and Qaga, about 30 miles from the nearest city, KuGompo, have relied on these communal lands for food, income, healing and spiritual connection.
Residents of the village say a planned open-cast mine complex spread over thousands of hectares of communal land threatens their way of life.
