Residents of Namaqualand town Concordia have witnessed increased copper mining activities in and around their town. All Photos: Ashraf Hendricks
By Liezl Human
People living in the Namaqualand town of Concordia say their worst fears have become a daily reality as mining activities in the small town are ramping up.
Residents describe how the mining company’s large trucks are destroying roads in and around the town, creating a dust hazard.
The mining company, Copper 360, and its subsidiary Shirley Hayes-IPK (SHiP) has been extracting copper from several mines in the Northern Cape town. Increased mining in recent months has caused conflict between residents and the company, which the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is trying to mediate.
The Rietberg, Homeep, Koeëlkop, and Jubilee mines are located outside the town and Hester Maria and Wheal Julia mines are located inside the town where residents live.
It’s been nearly 11 months since 29 Concordia residents were arrested during a protest outside Copper 360’s Jubilee mine, which GroundUp reported on.
Residents are worried about how the nearby mining will affect their homes and communal land owned by the Concordia Communal Property Association.
Residents say large trucks have been passing through the town nearly every day, for months, creating dust and destroying the roads.
“The trucks are a big problem … They are driving our town flat,” says Shereen Fortuin, a community leader. Fortuin says their homes get covered in dust.
GroundUp first sent questions to Copper 360 on 13 June, which were acknowledged but had still not been responded to at the time of publication.
According to DMRE spokesperson Ernest Mulibana, in order to curb the dust issue, water is being extracted from the Jubilee mine to douse the roads and prevent excess dust.
But this too has raised concerns among residents about whether the mine water that is used to douse their roads is polluted, says Nuchey van Neel, chair of the Concordia Communal Property Association (CPA).
Stalemate
Talks between residents and the company have reached a stalemate.
The company issued a notice in terms of section 54 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act in August saying that CPA members prevented the company from accessing its Wheal Julia mine. This means that a dispute resolution process will have to be mediated by the department.
The department confirmed that officials have met with community members “on a regular basis” and “issues raised have been taken up with the rights holder in order to resolve such matters”.
But Van Neel says the process is taking too long. People living near the mines, particularly those living close to the Hester Maria mine in the town and the farmers close to the Rietberg mine, have been left in the dark.
Marco Benson, a resident of Concordia, said, “There is a lot of unhappiness in what is going on here. It is our land. The community is not being recognised.”
In March some Concordia residents marked Human Rights Day with a march through the town, calling for a moratorium on all new and existing mining applications and permits until affected Namaqualand communities are meaningfully consulted.
Mulibana said the department will do a physical compliance inspection in July to “determine compliance” with the relevant mining right. This will include compliance checks for dust mitigation, he said.
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Source: GroundUp
Pictures: GroundUp
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