A silica sand mining company that has set its sights on 50 hectares of land in the Philippi Horticultural Area in Cape Town is appealing the decision by the Department of Water and Sanitation to refuse it a water use licence.
“The PHA is a drought proof farmland, the value of which has become incrementally more clear in the face of the role it must play in offsetting the worst effects of climate change,” the PHA Campaign commented.
Keysource said the DWS had failed to consider the “negative socio-economic impact if the water use licence is refused.” The company said the mine would supply silica for glass production and water purification systems, for example, in the wine industry. Keysource said the mining area is “one of the last remaining high-grade silica deposits in South Africa”, and not opening the mine would impact jobs.