Mining group eyes winelands

daveza

daveza

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http://www.news24.com/Content/South...19-02-2010-10-10/Mining_group_eyes_winelands_

Cape Town - The mining industry is eyeing the heart of the Boland wine region as well as part of the Cape Town metropole.

Wine farmers and land owners are upset about a government-controlled mining company applying for prospecting rights for the Bottelary area near Stellenbosch, as well as for the foot of the Tygerberg.

African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) (Ltd) wants development rights for among others, the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy, part of the Jordan wine estate and the historic De Grendel estate.

An application was handed in to the Department of Mineral Resources according to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. Members of the public may respond until March 9. The mining company now has to hand in an environmental plan.


The area near Stellenbosch stretches over 4 700 hectares and includes the farms Annex Langverwacht 245, Haasendal 222 and the remaining Rosendal 249. The company wants to acquire prospecting rights for among others, tin, zinc, copper, manganese and silver ore.

The application for prospecting rights in the metropole includes Highlands 195, Hooggelegen 193, Hooggelegen 194, De Grendel 256 and De Grendel 255. The company wants to look for tin, lead, zinc, copper, manganese, silver and lithium ore on these properties.
Click to expand...

No thank you !

Keep your greedy hands off our winelands !
 
I suspect they will get what they want after paying some 'commission' to government officials.
 
You can be sure they will apply for the prospecting rights and will most definately get them , a prospecting right does not mean they will start mining but its definately one step closer , first they will need the prospecting right then they need to layout loads of cash for the exploration and if they find minerals worth mining they will need to begin the process of attaining mining rights. This process will take a good couple of years to complete before you will see a mining site. All this will most likely be pushed through using contacts in the DME to get things going.

Once they get the mining right then the fun begins as they begin negoitiating a deal for with the land owners to sell them the surface rights , this is usualy where the struggle begins but most likely the land owners will gladly hand it over for huge sums of money, more money than they would get from 10 years of planting crops and get first option to buy the rehabilitated land back at a pre determined price once mining is completed.

Mining is big money and with getting the right players involved and your paperwork in order its no big deal to get it right wherever you like.
 
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