Beach and dune sand mining, South Africa. ©Photo courtesy of: “Sand Wars” Multi Award-Winning Filmmaker: Denis Delestrac (©-2013).
Excerpts;
The Australian mining company seeking the right to mine in Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape, has been lashed for its treatment of a community in the Western Cape where it has been accused of breaching its legal obligations.
In 2015, the Australian mining company’s Tormin mine began operations with the rights to mine 15km of beach along the coast of the municipality. It mined minerals contained in the sand that are used in industry, including zircon and magnetite. Within three years, the mine had breached that 15km boundary to the point where a 17 metre cliff below it collapsed…
Read Full Article; Mail & Guardian (04-29-2018)
South Africa: Setback for Giant West Coast Mine Project; All’Africa (01-09-2018)
The government has rejected an application by a controversial Australian mining company for a huge expansion of its existing Tormin heavy mineral sands mine near Koekenaap on the West Coast. Tormin has been in operation since October 2013, produces heavy sands minerals from the beach…
Quick sand, dirty Money; South Africa; Hakai Magazine (12-05-2017)
Mining has already cut coastal sand supply by as much as 70 percent in the municipality of Ethekwini, which includes Durban. Each year, miners dig up more than 400,000 cubic meters of sand from Durban’s rivers, enough to fill 160 Olympic swimming pools. This sand would normally be deposited on beaches and help offset coastal erosion. At current mining rates, Durban’s beaches are predicted to contract, on average, by more than a meter each year…
South Africa: Authorities Finally Move Against Australian Sand Mining Company; All’Africa (10-20-2016)
Tormin’s mining practice, which deviated significantly from the original environmental authorisation provisions of the mining license, has been in the spotlight since the mine began operations in March 2014. These include the construction of structures on the beach zone, mining directly on the beaches, and questions about a massive collapse of the sea cliffs below the mine processing plant…
The environmental loss of illegal sand mining in South Africa, ENCA (01-07-2016)
Research shows that KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are home to more than 200 illegal sand mining operations. Umvoti River sand is as good as gold in the construction industry. Its stellar components have placed it among the best sand in South Africa for building purposes. But this comes at a great environmental loss…
“The Shore Break,” A Movie From Riley Grunenwald; Variety (05-02-2016)
A gorgeous stretch of the Wild Coast is the object of a standoff between corrupt pro-mining forces interested in mining the local beach sand for titanium, and a South African coastal community. The drama is structured around two diametrically opposed protagonists. A film review by Variety…
Sand Mining Threatens South Africa’s Coast, Business Report (03-06-2015)
The Market For African Beach Sand: Who’s Buying, Selling And Mining It? AFK Insider (02-17-2017)
Sand, Rarer Than One Thinks: A UNEP report (GEA-March 2014)
Despite the colossal quantities of sand and gravel being used, our increasing dependence on them and the significant impact that their extraction has on the environment, this issue has been mostly ignored by policy makers and remains largely unknown by the general public.
In March 2014 The United Nations released its first Report about sand mining. “Sand Wars” film documentary by Denis Delestrac – first broadcasted on the european Arte Channel, May 28th, 2013, where it became the highest rated documentary for 2013 – expressly inspired the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to publish this 2014-Global Environmental Alert.
The Conservation Crisis No One Is Talking About, TakePart (09-21-2016)
Beaches around the world are disappearing. No, the cause isn’t sea-level rise, at least not this time. It’s a little-known but enormous industry called sand mining, which every year sucks up billions of tons of sand from beaches, ocean floors, and rivers to make everything from concrete to microchips to toothpaste…
Sand Wars, An Investigation Documentary, By Award-Winning Filmmaker Denis Delestrac (©-2013)
