Farmers remain opposed to sand silica mining in the PHA

Abdurahman Allie Kariel has been farming in the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) for close to a decade.

The organic produce from his Valota farm is supplied to wholesalers who in turn sell to restaurants and hotels.

But now he, along with other farmers in the PHA, fear that their livelihoods would be destroyed as a result of plans to mine silica sand in the northern part of the PHA.

“There are already problems with salinity of water in the southern part and this could exacerbate the situation in the north,” said Kariel.

Of major concern is the proximity of the proposed mine to monitoring boreholes and the impact to the Cape Flats Aquifer.

The proposed mining area is directly opposite Kriel’s farm, and he also fears that the operations would have an impact on air quality and the environment.

Calls for the protection of the entire PHA have heightened following the rejection of an application for a Water Use Licence (WUL) to enable silica sand mining.

The Water Tribunal turned down the application by Keysource Minerals for a second time, citing risks to the Cape Flats Aquifer and other negative environmental impact.

Keysource Minerals is a subsidiary of Apex Mining, which is 70% owned by Ardagh Glass Packaging, formerly known as Consol Glass.

The Philippi Horticultural Area Food and Farming Campaign (PHAFFC) welcomed the decision and regarded it as a “confirmation” that the PHA wetland ecosystem was “irreplaceable”.

Spokesperson Susanna Coleman said the decision was an “important milestone” in the on-going struggle to protect the PHA foodland and the Cape Flats Aquifer, both crucial for the City’s climate resilience.

Coleman said what was crucial now was for MEC for Local Government and Environment, Anton Bredell, and mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to implement measures to protect the entire PHA.

“They must decide on what constitutes the best public use of the water in the PHA. Should it benefit a private company over the needs of the people, farmers, and the environment?” she asked.

Coleman said the PHA was “drought-proof farmland” and its value in offsetting the effects of climate change could not be downplayed.

Bredell said he “recognised the importance” of the Cape Flats Aquifer and the applications lodged, as well as the decisions taken.

However, he said he was “not the sole authority responsible for applications” affecting the Cape Flats Aquifer nor the sole authority to make such a decision.

In May 2023 developers of the controversial Oakland City in the PHA also submitted a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to Bredell, seeking approval to build more than 400 houses on land considered to be 10 times the size of Century City.

In February 2020 the Western Cape High Court ordered the developers to conduct a new EIA, which should show the impact of the 500ha Oakland City Development on climate change, the Cape Flats Aquifer and water scarcity after the PHA .

Bredell was also part of the Western Cape cabinet, who together with the then MEC for Agriculture and now Premier, Alan Winde, adopted the 2018 Indego Study that called for the protection of the PHA.

With plans by Keysource Minerals to mine silica sand there, the PHAFFC and civil society activists fear this would expose the vast pockets of salt in the open cast ponding system.

“The aquifer will become a salinated soup which will ruin the water supply to the farms,” said Coleman.

The area for the proposed mining was also connected to Zeekoevlei, Rondevlei and the greater False Bay conservation area.

Coleman said about 55ha of wetland would be lost due to the proposed mining activity and it could not be re-created as an offset.

“To be precise, the wetlands are irreplaceable.”

Currently the City is investing R2.6 billion into the Cape Flats Aquifer to produce 50 to 60 million litres a day in order to ensure the City’s reliable drinking water supply.

When asked about the City’s position on silica sand mining there, Mayco member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, said: “Bulk Water does not object to the activities on the condition that they adhere to the recommended mitigation measures provided.”

The measures included prohibiting mining operations reaching or exceeding the clay layer.

In November 2019, the Water Tribunal rejected the first Consol Glass Integrated Water Use licence application. The company withdrew its appeal and began work on a new application with new environmental assessment practitioner, Umvoto Africa.

Mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Eddie Andrews, said the City granted an approval to Consol Glass in 2017 for consent to operate mining activities on Portion 2 and 3 of Cape Farm 1378.

However, the approval lapsed in July 2022 as the owner/applicant did not comply with the conditions of approval and did not exercise the rights granted at the time.

Keysource Minerals said the proposed mine would be developed in stages and the total investment was expected to exceed R100 million.

“The new operation will be in the same area and will operate above the same aquifer as the existing mine. Specialist studies on the existing site show that mining has not harmed the aquifer,” the company said .

It added that the mining and production of silica sand was a “mechanical process” and no chemical additives were involved, limiting the impact on the environment.

The company added that authorities requested Ardagh Glass Packaging to incorporate a desalination process into its new submission as an additional way to mitigate any potential impact of the mining operations.

However Coleman said the mining operation, which involved dredging a 20m deep hole in the land, would “forever destroy the land, food production and ecosystem”.

She said the only way to fend off a saltwater pond wherein nothing will grow or live would be for municipal management to desalinate. This, Coleman added, would thus be “externalising forever the costs of the mine onto the public. In essence they will socialise costs for private profit.”

The company already has an operation in Athlone but said it was now "running low on reserves".

It added that it had been increasing recycling rates, with some bottles now more than 70% recycled content.

“While we are working on increasing recycling content even further, we still need some raw materials, including silica sand to keep producing in the Western Cape. A good source of responsibly mined silica sand is important for the future of the glassmaking,”

The PHA Campaign said it would support any moves by the company to increase its recycling efforts.

“The Campaign does not support mining activities on the site,” said Coleman.