Call to stop mining threat to untouched beaches of West Coast
Protect the West Coast (PTWC) encourages the public to sign up as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) via www.ripl.co.za by March 10 for a new application by Richwill Diamonds to prospect for diamonds on a stretch of coast in the Northern Cape that includes the farm Strandfontein 559, where the company has been charged with trespassing by landowners Braam and Therese Nieuwoudt. PTWC experts have raised concerns about the effect of invasive prospecting on the beaches and terrestrial vegetation, the broad long-term implications on this sensitive biodiversity area, and public beach access should it lead to a mining right.