Protect The West Coast celebrates third birthday as mining threat continues unabated

Celebrations are in order as PTWC celebrates its third birthday this month! 

PTWC protested against the MSR beach mining operations on the West Coast in April 2021. Image – James Lowe.

As many of our supporters and friends know, Protect The West Coast was founded in November 2020 by Cape Town big wave surfer and entrepreneur Mike Schlebach, along with his two friends Camila Budden and Khaya Pullen, after he attempted to access surfing beaches on the West Coast and was turned away by scary security personnel from a large mining company. 

Since its inception, PTWC has brought illegal and unregulated mining to the attention of the South African public, while keeping mining companies off areas of ecological importance via legal challenges. PTWC lobbies national and provincial governments about the plight of the West Coast and her people, particularly the need for formal protection of critical biodiversity hotspots where communities rely on their natural resources, such as the Olifants River Estuary.

It was a serendipitous surf trip for Mike in 2020 to an isolated stretch of coast near the estuary that was adjacent to the Australian-owned Mineral Sands Resources (MSR) Tormin Mine.  Under the cover of Covid lockdowns, MSR was granted a controversial extension to its mine referred to as the ‘10-Beach Extension’ north of the Olifants River, prohibiting access to pristine beaches, quality surf spots and recreational areas previously open to the public. 

“I was told I needed a permit but pushed back and got ‘permission’ to camp overnight on public land,” says Mike. “The next day, I took a drive north to find the Tormin mine and saw new roads, trucks and excavators, all hard at work digging up this pristine piece of coastline. I just knew I had to do something about this situation.”

Digging deeper, Mike realised that this form of mining destroys the natural environment in conflict with sustainable land uses such as agriculture and tourism, with little to no rehabilitation. He saw how rampant, unchecked mining had a detrimental effect on ecosystems, local communities, traditional artisanal fishing and access to First Nations heritage sites. 

MSR digging up the pristine West Coast beaches in order to extract Heavy Minerals. Image – Anonymous.

Mike and co-founders, Khaya and Camila, came up with the concept of Protect The West Coast and set about registering the organisation as an NPO. 

From the outset, PTWC’s mission has not been to challenge all mining, but to counter illegal or unregulating mining on the West Coast. The organisation has done this through a team of mostly volunteers from legal, scientific, business, and media backgrounds who focus public attention on dubious activities, while providing a platform for the sharing of information and communication with various stakeholders on the West Coast to challenge mining companies and hold authorities accountable, as well as embarking on legal challenges when required.

The subject of PTWC’s scrutiny are not just illegal ‘cowboy’ operations, but also otherwise legal entities that obtain (or attempt to obtain) mining or prospecting rights through legally deficient means. These sometimes include incomplete or outdated environmental assessments and a lack of proper public consultation in the application process. 

“PTWC serves as a voice for marginalised communities and voiceless natural spaces, home to the exquisite flora and fauna of the West Coast,” says Mike. “This is why we publicise and challenge these applications, and where mining rights are granted, to ensure that the environmental management programmes and that social and labour plans are adhered to.”

PTWC has a medium-term goal to lobby the government to facilitate an all-in-one Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to be conducted by notable experts in environmental, economic, agricultural and social sciences, as well as in the cultural and heritage space, that will be the go-to guide for government to assess applications in a sustainable and legally appropriate way.

The formation of PTWC could not have come at a better time. There has been a deluge of applications to mine and prospect for diamonds and heavy mineral sands that have been hastily granted, entirely ad hoc, by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). 

“The DMRE is legally obliged to the citizens of our country,” says Mike. “The watchdog role the DMRE is mandated to provide is sorely lacking, while their mandate to promote mining has exploded into a situation where almost 500 km of coastline could be mined within a few years. A culture of non-compliance has crept into their processes, which puts the burden of their oversight role firmly on civil society. PTWC has become the unified voice for concerned stakeholders and civil society playing the watchdog role. This is done through media advocacy, legal challenges and partnerships with communities and other organisations.”

For a small organisation with limited resources and a small complement of staff and volunteers in the media, science and business space, PTWC has punched above its weight in the three years of its existence. The media team has garnered wide coverage by The Daily Maverick, eNCA, Sunday Times, Cape Talk, Agence France-Presse and many more.

Run West, a series of annual coastal runs organised by trial running activist Dom Jesus, an ardent and passionate West Coast advocate, has brought broad public awareness to the issue of mining on the West Coast, while raising funds for PTWC to continue its fight.

Apart from garnering extensive media coverage, the PTWC legal team has spearheaded successful legal action against mining company Trans Hex and provided assistance and support on other legal challenges against mining companies. 

The old Trans Hex operation just north of Doringbaai. They have since up and left without fully rehabilitating the area. Image – Anonymous.

PTWC has encouraged and increased vital public participation in the objection and approvals process required but often ignored by applications. As a result of the Trans Hex settlement, which prevents the company from mining around the Olifants Estuary and legally obliged them to be more mindful of their impact, the DMRE made a rare refusal against Nekwana Trading for an application to prospect for minerals near the Olifants River Mouth, another small but significant victory for our movement.

However, despite these achievements by PTWC, the avalanche of prospecting and mining applications and operations on the West Coast continues unabated, not to mention similar activity in the oil and gas sector – a significant concurrent threat. 

The fight is just getting started. 

Ironically, PTWC’s success has led people to see it as a large, well-funded non-profit. This is not so. Comprising part-timers, pro bono workers and volunteers, PTWC runs on a shoestring budget aided by a handful of funders, with little funding to go after the big fish legally, or target big goals such as working with government to get the Olifants Estuary (and several other critical hotspots – watch this space) a formally protected area that is safe from mining in perpetuity. 

To fulfil our strategy for the next two years, we need funding to enable our team to maintain this momentum, and turn the screws even tighter against illegal mining to protect the vulnerable environment and marginalised communities.  

Without support, this momentum will fizzle. If PTWC cannot continue, all the good work will have been for nothing. Please don’t let greedy, unscrupulous mining companies and a complicit government win the battle to Protect The West Coast. 

Your donation will go a long way ensuring that this does not happen. 

Not this coming year. Not ever. 

Thanks for the support!

PTWC Highlight Timeline 2020-2023

Below are just some of the achievements of PTWC over the past three years. Your support will help to ensure we can continue to make a meaningful impact and build on these accomplishments in 2024 and beyond.

2020

November

PTWC launches as an NPO (logo design by @joh_del)

PTWC team visits MSR mine and is shocked at the coastal damage

2021

January
First major SA news coverage in Daily Maverick

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-01-09-miners-are-ripping-up-the-west-coast/

February
PTWC submits an affidavit in support of CER Legal Action against MSR.

April
PTWC protest at Tormin Mine. Hands over Memorandum of Grievances

First Run West trail run from Groenrivier to Olifants Estuary (108 km over 3 days) is held to raise awareness and funds for PTWC

June
PTWC protest on Cape Town beaches to highlight how mines prevent beach access.

PTWC joins @flyonthewall_films, @veldandsea, Khoisan elders, @zolanimahola from Freshly Ground and @thebeachco_op for a coastal forage and traditional Khoisan Nua Ceremony to bless PTWC and pledge their support

August
PTWC releases range of merch in the form of 100% hemp eco-friendly tees 

PTWC collaborates with World Surf League to host the ‘Namakwa Challenge’, a specialty professional surfing competition on the West Coast

September
PTWC Partners with 1% for the Planet

October
Run West Chapter 2 is held (Olifants River to Elands Bay)

November
PTWC sends letter to DMRE Minister Barbara Creecy, including a petition of 57,230 signatures opposing the environmental destruction of the West Coast due to mining

December
PTWC premieres mining documentary Ours, Not Mine

2022

February
The Real Hidden Gems of The West Coast article published on Patagonia.com

Showdown on the wild West Coast article published in the Sunday Times

Run West Chapter 3 is held (Elands Bay to St Helena Bay)

March
PTWC partners with Jack Black for first ‘Pint for a Purpose’ fundraising campaign

Run West 4.0 takes place from St Helena to West Coast National Park 

April
Ours, Not Mine wins silver award in International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2022 


May
PTWC takes Ours Not Mine on a six stop tour of the West Coast, with screenings in Strandfontein, Lutzville, Hondeklipbaai, Kleinzee, Port Nolloth and Alexanderbaai

June
CER settles with MSR, supported by PTWC. MSR complies with environmental measures at its West Coast operation

September
PTWC endorses West Coast algae farming alternative SeaH4 

PTWC teams up with Gone. Outdoor and SOA for Doringbaai beach clean up

October
PTWC fact-finding mission to Northern Cape discovers vast moonscape destruction from lack of mining rehabilitation 

2023

February
Activists haul diamond-mining company to court to avert ‘moonscape’ fate for sensitive West Coast in Daily Maverick

May
PTWC launches eco education pilot project at DoringBaai Primary School

June
PTWC MD Mike Schlebach appears on Cape Talk https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/476235/watch-west-coast-under-siege-with-heavy-sand-mineral-mining-applications

PTWC joins SOA for beach clean-up in Hout Bay, Cape Town for World Oceans Day

July

More than 750 objections lodged against Piketberg tungsten mining application

PTWC education initiative takes Doringbaai learners to ‘!Khwa Ttu’ San Heritage Centre near Darling. It was Doringbaai Primary’s first camp outing in 15 years

PTWC MD Mike Schlebach appears on eNCA

The Annual Gone4Good virtual trail running challenge wraps up on July 31 and raises more than R108,000 for grassroots organisations fighting to protect our wild spaces including PTWC, the African Pangolin Working Group, Sentinel Ocean Alliance and Dream Higher

August

PTWC secures a massive out-of-court victory against mining by striking an agreement with Trans Hex to prevent them from mining in critically vulnerable parts of the Cape West Coast, including the Olifants River Estuary

September

DMRE refuses Environmental Authorisation for Nekwana Trading to prospect north of the Olifants River.

First public Run West trail run, when 145 runners run 21 km from the Olifants Estuary and 10 km from Strandfontein to Doring Bay, and raise more than R40,000 for PTWC

November

PTWC scientists and environmental experts conduct a historic oversight trip to observe West Coast mining impacts

PTWC launches ‘Protector’ clothing range with exclusive artwork by Mike Sherman and launches a new website and online store to celebrate the organisation’s third anniversary. Shop here!

PTWC wins an award in the mining category of the 2023 Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards, an annual celebration of individuals, companies, communities and NGOs busy working on making the world a better place for us and future generations.

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