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| ISSUE:
Loss of soils due to the mining of minerals, sand and clay |
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| Mining
activities occur throughout the CMA and lead to the complete alteration of the land
surface in most cases. If rehabilitation and environmental management plans are not
implemented, mining activities lead to the loss of soils and the consequent loss of
habitat for conservation and siltation in streams and wetlands. |
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Mining activities and
unused mineral rights exist in many areas of the CMA. These include:
- Limestone deposits and silica sands on the
Cape Flats;
- Kaolin in the southern Cape Peninsula; and,
- Malmesbury hornfels and other building
materials in the Tygerberg Hills.
Mining activities are controlled in terms
of the Minerals Act, which is administered by the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs
(DMEA). Mines also require planning approval in terms of the Land Use Planning Ordinance
(LUPO) and relevant Town Planning Scheme and Zoning Scheme regulations, which are
administered by Municipalities.
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| A lack of coordination
between planning legislation and procedures, administered by Municipalities, and the
requirements of the Minerals Act, administered by DMEA, leads to poor control of mining
activities and excessive impacts of mining activities. In excess of 10 000 t/pa of high-grade silica was mined in the
Phillippi area in 1992.
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| No indicators for soil
loss due to mining activities currently exist. See a summary of all Indicators on this website
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The following response
is underway by the CMC:
- The Directorate: Planning, Environment and
Housing has commissioned the preparation of a Mineral Extraction Structure Plan for the
Cape Metropolitan Region and Adjoining West Coast Areas. The plan will identify areas of
potential mineral extraction, including sand mining and provide both substantive and
procedural guidelines for the evaluation of applications to mine, as well as conditions to
be attached to the approval of sand mining activities.
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- Notify the authorities of any illegal
and/or unsafe mining operations.
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