News - Protect the West Coast

Landmark Port Nolloth fishing agreement underlines vital role of public participation in mining application process

An appeal by PTWC against a mining right granted to Whale Head Minerals has led to an agreement for Port Nolloth fishers to get improved access to historic fishing grounds, as well as other concessions, underlining the key role that appeals have in the Public Participation Process (PPP). Once the agreement between the company and fishers was reached, PTWC agreed to withdraw the appeal against the mining of heavy minerals along 27km of coast between Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay.

December 5, 2025

PTWC Joins Global Save the Waves Coalition to Protect African ‘Surf Ecosystems’

Protect the West Coast (PTWC) has aligned with Save The Waves Coalition, an international nonprofit that works with organisations dedicated to protecting ‘surf ecosystems’ around the world. PTWC MD Mike Schlebach and Communications Manager Miles Masterson attended the recent Save the Waves Coalition Summit in Santa Cruz, California on a fact-finding mission to learn more about how PTWC can play a key role to protect key surf spots in South Africa and Africa, and the vulnerable ecosystems around them.

December 1, 2025

Koos Malgas the Gannet Takes off To Protect the West Coast

A 90 kilogram sculpture of a Cape Gannet that stands five metres high has been crafted from driftwood for Protect the West Coast. Kommetjie artist Chip Snaddon was commissioned to create the huge bird as an iconic symbol of the threatened and endangered fauna and flora of the West Coast that PTWC is trying to protect from heavy mineral and diamond sand mining.

November 28, 2025

Ripple Effect gathering postponed – plan underway for even stronger event in 2026

Earlier this month, we had to make the tough call to postpone The Ripple Effect public gathering and paddle-out in Langebaan. This wasn’t an easy decision. The team had been preparing for months, and were looking forward to coming together with everyone who cares about the West Coast. But some last-minute challenges emerged that meant a safe and comfortable environment for participants could not be guaranteed.

November 14, 2025

West Coast Siege: Flurry of applications poses new threat to fragile fauna and flora

The West Coast has been bombarded by a surge in mining prospecting applications this month near Critically Biodiversity areas. Protect the West Coast (PTWC) experts have raised grave concerns about the threat to endangered fauna and flora, and warn that proposed rehabilitation budgets are woefully inadequate. PTWC urges the public to unite as a single voice via its digital public participation platform www.ripl.co.za. Register or log onto Ripl by November 19 to object to these applications and raise your environmental and legal concerns to prevent lasting harm to some of the most biodiverse and unique habitats in the world.

November 13, 2025

Record Run West trail run shows the way for the West Coast

More than 450 entrants from around the Western Cape descended on the small towns of Papendorp, Strandfontein and Doringbaai for the third iteration of Run West, a special trail run event that seeks to protect and uplift coastal communities and their environment from beach mining and social ills.

October 2, 2025

PPP Part 3: The Vital Roles of EAPs and I&APs in the Public Participation Process

Most people have not heard of an Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) unless they have already engaged with the Public Participation Process (PPP). This is the legally mandated mechanism to assess all types of developments, including mining applications. EAPs are the professionals tasked with managing the PPP on behalf of mining applicants, and while many operate ethically, some do not, with potentially devastating consequences.

October 2, 2025

St Helena residents submit 1440 objections to mystery mining application on their doorstep

A recent application by Zucolox (Pty) Ltd to prospect for minerals, including copper, diamonds and tungsten, on two farms overlooking Beach Estate in Britannia Bay, St Helena Bay has sparked alarm and outrage. A 1440 signature petition by residents objects to the application – the first of its kind this far south on the West Coast. So far, the petition, and attempts to engage with Zucolox, have been met by a wall of silence.

September 30, 2025

The Ripl effect: PTWC flies high at BirdLife SA events

PTWC recently promoted the effective use of our Public Participation Platform, Ripl, at two BirdLife South Africa events. Between site visits to mines, appeals and comments about mining legislation and applications, we were able to accept invitations to a workshop about threats to protected areas, and a biweekly webinar series, Conservation Conversations. We welcomed the opportunity to collaborate and mingle with like-minded organisations and environmental activists.

August 22, 2025

Legal experts raise red flag about Draft Mineral Resources Bill

Environmental NGO Protect the West Coast (PTWC) has slammed the Draft Mineral Resources Development Bill for changes that it warns could exclude communities from public participation, strip away environmental safeguards, and set a dangerous precedent by centralising state control.

August 21, 2025

Government urged to decline Trans Hex ocean mining bid

A Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg, Patrick Bond, says that the double application to prospect and mine for diamonds and heavy minerals in concessions along 80km of the West Coast goes against fundamental national wealth strategies, and provides insufficient proof that the non-renewable resources it will extract will be properly compensated for as mandated in the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the Gaborone Declaration of 2012.

August 15, 2025

The Ripple Effect: A Simple Guide to PTWC’s digital public participation platform, Ripl.

The Public Participation Process (PPP) is a crucial mechanism to provide the public with a voice to raise concerns and provide feedback on prospecting and mining applications. But the traditional process to register and comment as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) has been complex and onerous. Which is why Protect the West Coast created Ripl to provide an easy, one-stop digital PPP platform – but we are still asked how to use it all the time. In the second in our series of articles covering PPP, we offer you a simple step-by-step guide to navigate Ripl.

July 28, 2025