Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal environmental affairs department
has approved a controversial dune mining project to South African company
Exxaro KZN Sands, the Mercury reported on Friday.
Exxaro KZN Sands has partnered with Australian company, New
Tronox Group, which was formed from a bankrupt corporation which reportedly
polluted 22 states in the United States of America with nuclear waste, wood
poisons, rocket fuel, mining, waste oil, and gas.
The mine would be located in Mtunzini and the adjoining
Umlalazi nature reserve.
Valued between R1.4bn and R2.4bn, the Fairbreeze project
aimed to extract heavy minerals such as titanium, zircon, rutile, and
leucoxene.
The mine would be situated 100 metres from the coastal
resort town which generates most of its income from ecologically-based tourism.
According to the Mercury the mine was expected to have
harmful impacts on Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's well-known Umlalazi nature reserve,
the Siyaya coastal forest and the Twinstreams environmental education centre.
The Mercury quoted the environmental affairs department
saying: "The economic benefits associated with the development of
Fairbreeze mine are huge in terms of retaining jobs, GDP (gross domestic product) and expenditure in the
local markets during construction."
Exxaro spokesperson Hilton Atkinson said on Thursday some
authorisations were still needed and mining could only begin when all these
were in place.