stop them! we have strip mining on our farm in kzn and its is still unusable 30 years on.

Start marches and get public participation. It is just another anc trick.

Insane idea...... as long as the rich get richer.....

I'm a 2nd year BSc Student at the University of Stellenbosch, Studying Oenology and Viticulture (wine-making).
to hear about this happening is sad, the bio-diversity and everything that makes this place good will be destroyed,Pollution will damage wines, imagine having a wine and you pick up hints of Garbage or fumes on the nose, is that going to be the new aromas to find...
And to realize that Stellenbosch will end up becoming a mining town, all the workers and people will end up moving here and destroy what we love, culture will be lost!
Stephan

A great idea in the western Cape where there are few jobs.

It is high time we stop the alcohol producers and alcohol related violence and bring in good decent mining business. Real jobs for many. Not a few filthy rich wine farm owners and many alcohol dependent poor farm labourers

I love the way everyone gets caught up in the romance of a 'wine farm' when they basically narcotics producers.... alcohol is just another drug that ruins society and it doesn't take much effort to see the detrimental effects of wine on society in the western Cape.

As for biodiversity - wine farms clear indigenous fynbos to plant one single exotic species.

we -the forsyth family are incenced at the possibility of mining taking place in the Bottelary hills and nearby areas we have enjoyed the fruits of the area for many decades - if this travesty takes place it will be an indelible black mark against the Zuma government and his local cronies - shame - utter shame on you for even considering it !!

what a mess for the region

Are these people going to strip the country of all it's beauty all for minerals. They have ano heart.

The marches and letters will do nothing to stop them. It is the MINISTER that has to stop them. Does this person have a heart. He or she only follows ANC policy - that is what is said to us all the time. Jacob Zuma only follows ANC policy. Who are these people that have destroyed our country.

This is absolutely out of line. The Cape Winelands are being considered by UNESCO at present as a World Heritage Site. The heritage of the winelands goes back three centuries and is core to the identity of the region. Second, the W Cape's economy is rooted in agriculture and tourism. Mining is not a sector of the economy here and is entirely inappropriate. Ask the people of Noordhoek about the caolin mining saga. Everyone, go to the site set up by Gary Jordan mentioned above, and register as Affected and Interested Parties, and do so by Tuesday 9 March.

THIS IS SO SHOCKING WE COULD NOT BELIEVE IT IS HAPPENING. AS THE INDUSTRY IS FACING A COMMON THREAT, WILL THIS FINALLY MAKE THE WINE ESTATES, FARMS ETC. STAND TOGETHER?

STOP THEM IMMEDIATELY. THE INDUSTRY IS NOT ONLY THE SOURCE OF OUR INCOME BUT PART OF OUR HISTORY.

WE WILL SUPPORT ANY INITIAVE TO PUT A STOP TO THIS CRAZY APPLICATION!

If that is what you call mining with old small trucks and earthmoving machines to move ground, it is bound to be another money wasted project.

STOP THESE ANC BARBARS !!!!!

STOP THESE CULTURELESS ANC BARBARS !!!
THEY JUST WANT TO STEAL THIS LAND TO FILL UP THEIR OWN POCKETS AND TO ESTABLISH INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS TO CRACK AN ORDERLY AREA FOR THEIR PRIMITIVE POWER INSTINCTS FILLING THEM WITH VOTERS FROM TRANSKEI OR EASTERN CAPE

Ridiculous idea, exactly how foolish can they possibly hope to be? In effect they're planning to invest hugely into mining a mineral poor region, whilst at the same time destroying the local biodiversity and main economic pillars.

I grew up in Witbank and I think it is the most depressing place due to all the ugly mines. Mining in the Cape winelands will destroy so much more than it will gain. The ANC doesn't care about heritage or maybe it is because they are not educated enough. I hope enough momentum can be gained to stop the ANC to destroy another valuable assset. They are really a disgrace!!!

Why? Who and what is behind this?
Yes, the western cape is the last remaining bastion of civilisation. The ANC want it desperately. Look at the growing shanty towns of bussed in voters, same as pre 1994.
Evil happens when good men do nothing. Hurry up UNESCO!

Geologically, this area consists of clay and sandstone. Is someone expecting to make more money from kaolin mining than agriculture?

http://www.gac.ca/publications/geoscience/TOC/v30no4.pdf

I had to check the calendar to see that it was not 1st April!! Surely not???

BRAD - Jou are a poepol !

typical drunken South Africans always thinking about getting pi***d instead of generating revenue and permanent employment for the people of the country

You are all missing the point here, this is not about the mining, it is giving the government a legal opening of getting a few million more of their supporters into the Western Cape. It is a political decision.

So what on earth (pun!) are they wanting to mine there, I doubt there is gold or diamonds. Photos look like one of those Angolan diamond mines - ancient equipment and raping the country side to make a few individuals rich.

BRAD.... obviously your are just one crazy lunatic!!!!!! How can you talk such a lot of sh*t??? Imagine ugly, filthy mines in the beautifull Cape.... polluting everything.... I think you need a drink to lighten you up a bit!!!!!!

this not about mining, it is about miners..... how many do they need to turn WC into another disaster zone?

BRAD.... you are one crazy, alcohol deprived sh*t!!!! How can you even think about job creation.... they don't want to work, they want to steal... get your head sorted out Brad... Have a good look at our beautifull Cape, and you want to see mines here... you need one helluva dop, my pel!!!!!

Why do you not want to post my comments?

This is a political decision. Not about mines, BUT about how many ANC voters they can bring into the area to turn WC into another disaster area.

oh yay lets let the ANC BEE BLACK DIAMONDS MINE SOME ZINC AND dESTORY THE FASTEST GROWING TOURIST, WINE PRODUCING, EXPORTING, GROWTH AND JOB CREATION AREA, AT LEAST A CUOPLE OF ANC BIG WIGA WILL GET RICH EVEN IF ITCOSTS HUNDREDS OF JOBS AND LOSS OF TOURISM REVENUE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

Dear Brad, you clearly have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Wine farmers contribute greatly to the economy of the Western Cape. No tourist will spend the money to visit a mine! How on earth do you propose re-educating these farm labourers mining skills. As for the fynbos, please make 100% sure of your facts before you make such an unsubstantiated sweeping statement.

Dear readers, do not be mislead! There is certainly some ulterior motive for wanting to "prospect" here. Geological surveys (at some serious costs) already proved no viable deposits. So why, at taxpayers' expense, more prospecting? 2ndly, I took some financial risks to buy here for my health's sake, now to hear 4 years later that pollution and noise will compromise, not only my standard of living, but also my health and lifespan! Not to mention an investment losing value.I may be a conspiracy theorist and see ghosts where none are, but I am convinced some scam/scheme by the government or crony of the government is behind this for some sinister reason. AEMFC is a startup company and part of the CEF (Central Energy Fund). How prospecting for tin, silver and such groups of metals will improve the ESCOM crises only they will know. I KNOW though that I am not so far of the scale as Brad who has some political or other agenda re wine farms and/or alcohol.

TELL THE MINERS TO GO HOME AND LEAVE THE WINELANDS ALONE !!!!

@Brad, R u an idiot? I am a recovering Alcholic, and I will not say stop producing wine and alcohol. It is a huge source of income for more than jsut your so-called few. As well as the level of tourism this brings into the Western Cape. Go be Holier than thou somewhere else

They will do what they want because they can. They do not care about anybody else except themselves, even as ridiculous it may sound, for them anything, even the impossible to destroy, is possible. We never thought Zuma would become president.......

THE MINERS MUST BE STOPPED AT ALL COSTS ! What idiot is behind this ?

The government just needs to sit back and think of all the revenue it is going to loose in the form of company taxes and excise from the wine producers, before they realise that this is a totally stupid and moronic idea. oh i forgot...maybe they want to get rid of the local wine producers, so that the dumbass Julius and his brainless supporters can have an excuse to drink Moet!

Don't you all realise that Julius Malema has his eye on some prime Wineland Farms ? The first step in his feeble mind is to re-open he mines and then to "nationalise" them. As a government vafourite he probably already has a position selected for him to become some sort of mine manager and take over a farm or two as his "Headquarters". The mines will then be shut down as "unprofitable" and the Malema-led ANC will simply retain control of the farms.

Stop this - we must for once stand together and as one voice say NO

I agree. Heaven forbid they attempt to mow down their beloved Remy Martin Vines or the Johnnie Walker Distilleries gave up their grain for coucil flats. They would be up in arms.

Tasteless, cultureless bastards

While mining is a bad idea, wine farming is not much better. As I understand it, wine farmers are heavily subsidized in terms of the cost of their irrigation water, as their water is either very cheap or free. Are such unsustainable practices appropriate for a water stressed country? I would like wine farmers to start growing food crops like wheat. As for the mining, that should be stopped as well.

Reply to Brad… - u’r being absurd!!

We as South African citizens should have a right to drink good quality wine (which = mostly produced in Cape Winelands!) It is of superior quality and I can assure you not the drink of the poor “alcohol-dependent” labourers… There are responsible grown-ups who use alcohol responsibly! And if you wish to stop alcohol abuse - the Stellenbosch and Tygerberg wineries are not your target!! Just because you don’t like alcohol doesn’t mean the whole world has to be deprived of it.

Wine-farming pollutes and destroys the same or less than other forms of farming - ALL farming practices use pesticides, fertilizer, WATER, etc! If you wish to gun wine-farming for environmental impact you should campaign against ALL crop-pruducing farms. I’d suggest you stop eating tomatoes, cabbage, apples… (any veg. for that matter), beef, chicken (actually any meat too), actually perhaps you should go on a hunger strike to demonstrate your convictions… send pictures.

[And Andrew… what the hay, wheat does best in the Swartland and there’s more than enough other parts of the country where better quality wheat can be grown than in the Winelands - you have no comprehension of how farming functions! Wheat farming requires much more land to produce harvests that are economically and sustainably! You could basically fit one wheat farm into the whole Stellenbosch region]

The protection of Wine farms is not about romance - it’s about sustainable job creation, tourism, property value, pollution (mining will pollute 1000 times more than any type of farming). The reason Cape Town is one of our most popular tourist destinations is because it houses the Wine-route, one of THE BEST and most beautiful in the WORLD. It is one of the best because of the special climate, which can’t be reproduced elsewhere in SA… so if you destroy it - you won’t be able to replace it once you realise what an idiot u’ve been. The winelands are beautiful because there are no mines there!! Farms in other parts of the country that have been mined more than 30 years ago are still unusable - so if you ruin the farm lands, you can’t fix it - for YEARS!! And it’s not just about a comparison between mining and farming it is about the fact that millions of South African Citisens don’t want it there. They surely have a right to say if they don’t want their Winelands destroyed! The Winelands are also a part of the Western Cape’s Heritage - the lands have been farmed WAY before anyone in this country were born… so the decision to mine it or not should consult all of us who’s heritage it is - including yours. You should take your family and friends for a visit to the Winelands and then u’ll understand! Remember to have some Hanepoot ;)