Regulations seemingly ignored in Xolobeni mining rights case

摘要

In a highly controversial move, mining entity Transworld Energy Minerals (TEM), a subsidiary of Australian group Mineral Resource Commodities (MRC), was granted the rights to mine the heavy mineral sand deposits in the Kwanyana block of the Xolobeni tenement area on the Wild Coast, in the Eastern Cape. The Grahamstown office of the Legal Resource Centre (LRC) filed a notice of appeal with the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) on September 3,2008, regarding the mining rights. This was done on behalf of the AmaDiba Crisis Committee (ACC), comprising Xolobeni community members who are concerned about the adverse effects that mining will have on the local environment and the community.