Titanium Mining Pondoland
Looking at the environmental justice issues surrounding the proposed mining by Mineral Commodities (MRC)
Description
History of Pondoland
Titanium and Mineral Commodities (MRC)
A contemporary issue!
Project: 8 day hike to gain experiential learning
Methodology
Conversation with our guide
Conversations with homestay hosts
Interview with other hikers
Being present (75 miles)
- Landscape (homes and agriculture)
- Biodiversity
- Archeological sites (anthropological and fossil beds)
- Cultural relevance
Findings
Profitable agriculture (madumbe and sweet potatoes)
Biodiversity economy (plants, ocean life)
The hike as a form of spreading awareness (journalists and international attention)
Ecotourism (waterfall, one of 12 in the world that fall into the ocean)
Holistic usage of landscape (Mining company arguments vs reality)
Impacts of ecotourism (campsites and lodges owned by community)
Archeology (anthropological and fossil beds)
YesForYouth initiative to counteract urban migration of young people
Bribery of community leaders to approve mining (response)
Proposal of N2 highway (streamlining the export of titanium to major ports)
Personal implications
Patil
- Documentation of a story
- Seeing a new part of the world and way that people lived (food, showers, houses)
- Engaging with environmentalism and seeing this situation through that lens
Alex
- Engaging with a part of South Africa that was new to me
- Seeing how this small community is resisting the mining company and the the South African Minister of Mineral Resources
- Relating environmental studies to my own situation
Future implications
What will happen in Pondoland?
Will economic need eventually triumph?
Thank you!
