Plan to mine park sparks outrage

SANParks and WWF-SA are blocking the mining application inside West Coast National Park

- Sheree Bega

South African National Parks (SANParks) has shot down an “audacious” application by a company to mine phosphate inside the ecologically-sensitive West Coast National Park.

Last September Kropz Elandsfontein, an emerging African phosphate producer majority-owned by billionaire business person Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, wrote to SANParks to open negotiations for a proposed “land swop” for its Elandsfontein opencast phosphate mine.

On 14 March, it applied for a portion of phosphate-bearing land to be excluded from the Western Cape park to allow it to mine in the area.

“To compensate for the potential deproclamation of the relevant area, Kropz has formally offered SANParks the inclusion of biodiversity-rich land bordering the West Coast National Park, land which is of equal or greater conservation value than the current portion under consideration,” the company said in a statement.

This proposed land swop “would not only consolidate” the park’s footprint but also support SANParks’ “long-term biodiversity goals” with the addition of infrastructure and land access, it said.

The focal conservation point of the 40 000ha park is the Langebaan Lagoon and the offshore islands in Saldanha Bay, which together form the Langebaan Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance.

SANParks spokesperson JP Louw said: “SANParks cannot allow any mining activities within a declared national park, as this is prohibited under section 48(1)(a) of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act [Nempaa]. We have communicated this official position to Kropz and other relevant stakeholders.”

Last week, environmental group WWF-SA denounced Kropz’s “rather audacious” application.