Cape vineyards spared mining destruction

The South African vineyards threatened with destruction by a mining corporation appear to have been spared.

The mining application by the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) is unlikely to be accepted by the government’s department for mineral resources.

Department director general, Sandile Nogxina, said: "Definitely the application is not going anywhere, as, if mining went ahead, we would have to expropriate those farms and the operations."

When the application was made the AEMFC was apparently unaware that vineyards and a conservation area lay above the tin, silver and other minerals it wanted to mine, having only consulted a geological map of the area.

"Those people (AEMFC) discovered during a consultative process that these were vineyards – after the application had been lodged," continued Nogxina, “I am sure that they will withdraw their application.”

However, the company’s CEO, Sizwe Madondo, insisted that AEMFC would not withdraw the application but would instead wait for it to be formally confirmed or rejected by the department for mineral resources.

The affected producers, which include De Grendel and Jordan Estates, say they have not been given any confirmation of the application’s rejection and will not let up in their campaign to halt the mining until they do.

Today they released a statement saying: “The Stellenbosch and Cape Town communities affected by the recent application for prospecting rights in the Cape winelands, are delighted at hearing reports that the director-general of the DME, Adv Sandile Nogxina has announced that the applications will be rejected, but are continuing with their legal action until they receive a press statement in writing from the DME to that effect."

“With the state acting as both referee and player with regards to AEMFC’s applications country-wide, one realizes that there is something inherently wrong not only with the application system but with the very existence of a state-controlled mining house and if this is done to line the pockets of a select group of people, then every citizen in South Africa loses out.”

Rupert Millar, 11.03.10