The Xolobeni community of the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape was planning to start ecotourism projects following a decision by the Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, to withdraw mining the rights of Transworld Energy and Mineral Resource this week, it said yesterday.
Shabangu withdrew the decision by the department to grant Transworld the right to mine heavy minerals on the Kwanyana Block of the Xolobeni tenement area because of outstanding environmental issues.
Mzamo Dlamini, the spokesman for the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), said: “We hope we will get investor confidence back. We have had big businesses who wanted to partner with the community, but their fear was what would happen when mining started.”
Andrew Lashbrooke of Transworld said: “We have no formal correspondence from the department.”
Zeka Mnyama, the chairman of Xolco, the black empowerment partner of Transworld, said that the company would consult with members of the community on the issue.
In a letter to the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), Shabangu said the decision to grant the mining right was taken at a stage when several environmental issues were still outstanding. The company had three months in which to submit documents to address environmental concerns that led to the withdrawal of the right.
The LRC filed a notice of appeal with the department in 2008, on behalf of the ACC. LRC lawyer Sarah Sephton said yesterday that the company had failed to consult the affected community. - Business Report
