On 5 May 2021, the prospecting mining company Buchuberg Resources (Pty) Ltd and Cape Zircon (Pty) Ltd hosted a public meeting for the community of Lamberts Bay as part of their public participation process for key interested and affected parties. This meeting sought to shed some light on the ongoing prospective mining activities on the coastal shores of the West Coast.
In March 2021, Buchuberg Resources (Pty) Ltd lodged two applications with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) for onshore prospecting rights and environmental authorisation in two vast areas in the West Coast. This authorisation was for the exploration of diamonds, gold ore, heavy minerals, rare earths and mineral sands.
Masifundise, Coastal links as well as other stakeholders attended this meeting to highlight the damaging effects of mining on the marine resources in the West Coast. More than 100 people showed up to the meeting in strong opposition to the prospecting mining. Community members questioned the intentions of the mining companies, arguing that the job creation promised by the project was short-term yet the effects of the mining on the environment and their livelihoods would be everlasting.
“This mining is going to badly affect our fish stocks our fish will decline. What will we eat then? How will we send our children to school if our livelihoods will be stolen from us like this? We say no to mining!”, said Rosey Shoshola a small-scale fisher.