Worry over planned new mining project

Some residents of the Fochville area are very worried about the plans for a new mining project in the area that few residents seem to know anything about. The Boksburg-based company, Qawe Minerals (Pty), has applied for environmental authorisation for the right to prospect for gold, manganese and diamonds on various portions of the Kraalkop farm. Most of the area on which they plan to prospect is situated on farmland between Fochville and the N12. The company even wants to prospect on the small piece of land between Fochville and Kokosi. Qawe Minerals has hired the company, Boswa Environmental Consulting, to do its public participation process. Copies of the company’s draft basic assessment report will be made available to interested and affected people for a review period of 30 days, which commenced on 25 June. The Herald obtained a copy of the report from a concerned resident of the area. According to the document, the company will carry out the project in five phases if it succeeds in obtaining prospecting rights. While Phase 1 will not be obtrusive, Phase 2 will consist of drilling, logging and sampling, after which the holes will be closed. Phase 3 will consist of mini-bulk sampling while Phase 4 entails bulk sampling, which includes excavating two 120 m wide and 60 m deep pits and 16 trenches. “Blasting will be done only when resistant rock is intercepted during trenching. “The floor area will be wide enough to allow access for a front-end loader/excavator to collect sample material,” the report continues. The most negative environmental impacts foreseen as part of the prospecting are groundwater con- tamination and traffic pollution by trucks. However, the company has plans to mitigate the contamination to some extent. The company says other possible outcomes would have a less significant impact on the area. The impacts include changes in the natural topography due to levelling of drill sites, air pollution and noise. Drilling and the movement of vehicles, removal and damage to the natural vegetation could result in landscape changes. Accidental fires, the disturbance of animal habitats and surface water contamination are also risk factors. Clearing and drilling could result in a reduction in land capability and impacts on the soil. Among other things, the land may become compacted and unable to host vegetation. An increase in domestic and construction waste and visual pollution by the drill rigs and towers will be visible to people living nearby. “We are very worried because there is less than a month left for public comment. Very few residents of our area seem to know about this,” said one concerned resident. “Our big worry is the possible contamination of groundwater,” another worried resident told the Herald. According to numerous people who have been checking, the only currently visible public notice concerning the project is an A4 page on the fence behind the Kraalkop Hotel. Those who wish to comment on the project should contact Ms Tsholofelo Motlhaga of Boswa Environmental Consulting at boswaenvironmental@gmail.com.