Blood Tin – Terroir vs Mines

Whilst on a hike during the weekend a friend of mine mentioned that some wine farms were up for land grabs due to mining proposals in the Western Cape. I laughed it off as something generated by the rumour mill but to my horror the rumours were confirmed by a call to Jordan and an article from WOSA this morning.

Blood Tin?

Copper and tin were mined in 1911 on the current Zevenwacht farm, but these endeavours were abandoned, one assumes with zero profit. Another mining group had a dabble in the 80s and also pulled out. So what is happening now? Is processed ore really going to see incredible vineyards such as those on Jordan (producing the CWG Sophia and Cobblers Hill) be ripped out? The entire wine world erupted in anger when the Germans wanted to put a bridge over the Mosel. Will the same reaction occur here? One hopes so.

In these instances one cannot look at the pure numbers of cash generated by a tin mine (which seem questionable) vs cash generated by a wine farm. This goes down to our heritage of wine making in the Polkadraai and Stellenbosch region. A mine in this area not only threatens some incredible wine producers but also a crucial piece of South Africa’s terroir. Imagine if someone wanted to mine the slopes of the Cote d’Or?! The French would burn quite a few tractors and buildings in protest!

Going beyond heritage, is the way the mining fat cats (African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation) waltz in, apply for mining rights, with some fatter cat in government giving the thumbs up, whilst most of the Estates weren’t even consulted. Rather sinister news is that the AEMFC (state owned) has been exempted by government from basic provisions like environmental management programmes and consultation. There are even rumours that this could be a vehicle for government to introduce land grabs on urban fringe areas. Where is Debora Patta when you need her!? Or Isabelle Jones for that matter!

Well, luckily it is not the old days of Radiosondergrense and TV1 and TV2 anymore, where we had no voice whatsoever. The world has a voice now, through the internet. Please join the Facebook Group here in protest and add your voice to the mix. Losing wines like the Jordan Sophia and this incredible terroir for a Tin mine is beyond all belief. Who uses tin these days anyway?! Check it out here – the metal is rubbish! “Most everyday materials that are commonly called “tin”, such as aluminium foil,beverage cans, corrugated building sheathing and tin cans, are actually made of steel or aluminium!”