4 Comments

1. 

   Margaret Matzener on April 28, 2009 at 3:24 am

   They held a Public Participation Meeting in Piketberg Library on the 23rd April 2009 – the advertisement was in Die Burger on the SAME DAY …. so no-one knew about it.

   Could you let me know what the current situation is?
   Should we take this to Carte Blanche?
   Could you get a list of all the shareholders in Bongani Minerals?

   I represent the Piketberg Forum – and would like to provide these details to our members.
   Many thanks

2. 

   Interested Person on April 29, 2009 at 2:18 pm

   I saw an article in Die Burger of 29 April 2009 about this issue.

   Now, maybe it’s a bit naive of me to query this issue in this way, but I would just like to understand this better…

   Some observations as an outsider:
   1. The site in question, which is already covered by farming activity, looks like it lies within the catchment area to the Verloren Vlei.
   2. The comment posted on this forum so far goes to great lengths to make the people involved with Riviera (the Tungsten deposit) sound like the biggest bunch of undesireables known to mankind.

   My comment on what has been said so far is thus:
   1. If the site area in question is currently being farmed as commercial land (which also has its own types of impact on the environment), then is it not equally amenable to mining activities under the correct environmental controls? Wouldn’t the only alternative solution then be to declare the whole valley area as conservation land and stop ALL human activities?
   2. It is my experience that professionals involved in these types of projects are acutely aware of these types of environmental concerns and generally strive to keep their own professional reputations intact. So the unsubstantiated claims against people’s personal characters above actually sounds more like an attempt to protect other individuals personal interests, rather than a genuine attempt to fight for the greater cause. For example, I did a Google search for Aubrey Withers, and the links that come up point to a different kind of character to the one described above as an individual who is quite extensively involved in all kinds of conservation and planning projects along the coastal areas (involving SANParks amongst others) and not a the “skelm” he’s made out to be…

   Please note that I am not trying to defend the mining companies in this regard. In fact, I would be more than willing to support this cause if it turns out to be genuine. I just can’t help getting the feeling that personal agendas play a role here somewhere, and one needs to be mindful of these kinds of impressions in a public forum if one is to deliver a successful argument.

   Comment if you think I’m completely off the topic, but at least be sensible about it and don’t just attack what I’ve said for the sake of the concerned environmentalist point of view (I too like my environment to be clean).

3. 

   Jane Turner on May 4, 2009 at 10:37 pm

   I am appalled at the duplicity of the department of Mineral & energy. How can they destroy so much (the livelihood of so many people, an exquisite valley where the farmers have lived in harmony with nature for over a hundred years and a declared RAMSAR site.) All for the sake of 20 years of wealth from a mine that will destroy the whole area. This as opposed to many lifetimes of life lived in tune with the rythms of nature and a critical site on the Verlorenvlei for many birds.

4. 

   colleen backstrom on May 11, 2009 at 8:48 am

   read the blog about the detail and process… have property in Banghoek Nature Reserve.. you have my vote.
   best wishes and thank you for taking this enormous project on on our behalf.
   does Helen Zille know?
   c