Building industry sandbagged
The local building industry has been badly affected by the sudden closure of the mine.
BUILDERS are bristling over the sudden demise of the Umzumbe sand mine that was allegedly ‘bullied out of business’, as reported in the Herald last week.
Wide-scale retrenchments in the construction industry are now a real threat, said one local businessman.
Many said the mine was the only source of quality building sand on the coast.
Meanwhile, the ward councillor, who reportedly fired up the Fairview Mission residents to protest against the mine, is facing two charges of assault and malicious damage to property.
He appeared in Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on Monday after he allegedly broke a truck driver’s cellphone in Mellville on March 12.
In another case, police spokesman Lt-Col Zandra Wiid, said a man was accused of slapping a 33-year-old woman at Fairview Mission hall on October 19 last year. He was charged with common assault.
“The case docket is with the senior public prosecutor for decision,” said Lt-Col Wiid.
There seems to be confusion around licences and legalities of various sand mining operations on the South Coast, but the Umzumbe mine in question was said to have been an invaluable source of quality building sand for the past 15 years.
Suddenly, the Department of Mineral Resources ordered it to close because it was a ‘health hazard’ (speeding trucks, dust and noise pollution) to the Fairview community. Late last year the community blocked off the road to the mine and threatened to do the same to the N2 if their concerns weren’t addressed.
Ian Jones, a local businessman, said the sand was a key ingredient in each product he manufactured. ’
“This is certainly not good for me, I have 30 people who rely on me for a job,” he said.
One of the owners of the now closed mine said that several illegal operations had now been established in the Damba, Umzumbe and Mtwalume rivers.
Retired geologist and environmentalist Paddy Norman also voiced his concern about mining sand from the coastal rivers in general.
He said river mouths were already being eroded because sand was leaving the system further upstream.
He cautioned that licences needed to be obtained from both the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Mineral Resources.
He said the best source of good quality building sand was at the bottom of dams that were rapidly silting up, but this was obviously not as easy and cost-effective as mining rivers.
