Tasman misses document deadline for Karoo uranium mining

Tasman RSA Mines has missed an official deadline to publish its Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plans documentation in support of its application for uranium mining rights at Kareepoort, in the Aberdeen District of the Karoo, which should have been published on 10 March 2017.

Tasman misses document deadline for Karoo uranium mining
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This was according to Dr Stefan Cramer, hydro-geologist and science advisor to the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute. The institute describes itself as committed to ‘earth keeping’.

READ The dangers of uranium mining

The mining company had applied to the Western Cape government for mining rights on some 500 000ha in the Karoo.

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Uranium mining in the Karoo posed a serious threat to the environment, and extreme water consumption and severe dust pollution caused by uranium mining were of grave concern, he said in a statement.

The fact that the company missed the deadline could be construed as blatant disregard for the legal processes for mining rights applications, Cramer said, adding that it made a mockery of the public participation process prescribed by law and enshrined in the SA Constitution.

“The possible effects of uranium mining in the Karoo and the impact thereof on the environment are even more terrifying than the effects of shale gas extraction,” Cramer said.

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Annelie Coleman represents Farmer’s Weekly in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape. Agriculture is in her blood. She grew up on a maize farm in the Wesselsbron district where her brother is still continuing with the family business. Annelie is passionate about the area she works in and calls it ‘God’s own country’. She’s particularly interested in beef cattle farming, especially with the indigenous African breeds. She’s an avid reader and owns a comprehensive collection of Africana covering hunting in colonial Africa, missionary history of same period, as well as Rhodesian literature.