Essay: Impact of mining on biodiversity and citizens

The Exxaro Resources Limited company plan to start mining the 4000 hectare mining site of Fairbreeze once the mining in Hillendale is completed. Exxaro hope to start mining soon because the mining would 1000 temporary jobs will be created in the construction phase. The high-powered hydraulic water pumps require 48 million litres of water to break down the soil in the dam. The Mtunzini Conservancy and the Mtunzini Residents Association oppose the mining because the mining will destroy the environment around it the land won’t be able to re-grow all the nutrients that it has lost because of the mines.
The conservation of the land and biodiversity is important for the citizens of Mtunzini because of the mining occurring it could affect the surrounding areas .Ian Garland at that time was a neighboring farmer who had planted trees surrounding the Twinstream environmental research camp. Our investigation is to see if the mining in Mtunzini will affect the people and biodiversity in the area.
‘ Value of property might drop?
‘ Will the citizens expect dust getting to their homes?
‘ Loss of amenities and loss of sense of plantations?
‘ Loss of tourism?
‘ Possible destruction of the Siyaya catchment?
‘ The drying up of ground leading to slime dams?
We had managed this research task by identifying the possible impacts done by the mines on the surrounding areas and people i.e. Biodiversity and the citizens. We had collected information from three different mining sites.
‘ Site 1
‘ Site 1 (rehabilitated )
‘ Site 2
At each site we looked at the different organisms which occupied the area which was soon to be mined and recorded it in a table i.e. animals and plants. The equipment we used was a measuring tape and string to measure the distance between the 3 different tests we had done in three different areas so in total we had nine different results.
The results we obtained did say that the mining will be having a negative impact in the area. These mining companies will be bring heavy and big machinery which would cost a lot of money just by bring it a few kilometers.
In conclusion we did prove our hypothesis to be correct because the mining company would be destroying the agriculture of Mtunzini and would be destroying the biodiversity. Referring to the questionnaire and the results we had compiled it clearly says that the mining is going to have a major effect on the citizens of Mtunzini including the plant and animal life in the area.
Results
. The following problems might occur.
‘ Value of property might drop?
‘ Will the citizens expect dust getting to their homes?
‘ Loss of amenities and loss of sense of plantations?
‘ Loss of tourism?
‘ Possible destruction of the Siyaya catchment?
The drying up of ground leading to slime dams
The results tell me that if the mining takes place the number of these living and non-living organisms will decrease due to the mines .The results also tell us that if
I can accept my hypothesis because the mining will be affecting the biodiversity in Mtunzini and the people. The results we obtained did say that the mining will be having a negative impact in the area. These mining companies will be bring heavy and big machinery which would cost a lot of money just by bring it a few kilometres.
Reference
http://www.mtunzini.co.za
http://www.mtunzini.co.za/exxaro.htm
Conclusion
In conclusion we did prove our hypothesis to be correct because the mining company would be destroying the agriculture of Mtunzini and would be destroying the biodiversity. Referring to the questionnaire and the results we had compiled it clearly says that the mining is going to have a major effect on the citizens of Mtunzini including the plant and animal life in the area. By looking at the results in the questionnaire it shows majority don’t like the mine because it’s taking away the biodiversity and the best tourist attraction in Mtunzini which is the land. Our hypothesis is therefore proven that the mines will affect the people and the biodiversity in Mtunzini.
Limitations
Our limitations were many people in Mtunzini were not aware of the mining taking place and some people weren’t educated so they didn’t know what the mining was during to the biodiversity.
Intro: The scope of the research task has been clearly outlined showing how the mines will affect the local people and the biodiversity surrounding it.
Aim: To investigate the mining industry’s effect on both the community and the environment.
Hypothesis: The mine will have a negative impact on the biodiversity and the people living there.
Method: Our group set up a questionnaire about peoples thoughts about the mine was it a positive or negative impact. We asked questions relating to the mining that’s taking place in their own community and how it will affect the environment. The second part to our investigation was we had went to three different sites and how the mining will affect these sites which was occupied by plants and animals.
Equipment used:
‘ String
‘ 4 sticks for each site
‘ Measuring tape
Methods of data collection:
1. Decide on the area you want to investigate make sure it is the correct size for you to get enough information form.
2. Take four sticks place it in each corner of the exact measurement of the square
3. Take the string you have and tie it around each corner for it to form a square
4. In the square you have made count the number of plant and animal life that’s in it
5. You can repeat these same steps in the next two sites
6. Once you count how many animal and plant life that is in the square work out a average for each topic.
7. Record all the results you have achieved for the number of animals and plants in a table of the three quadrants you have got your results from.
Abstract
In this investigation we take part in we found out the effects of the mining on the community of Mtunzini and the environment .we carried out two types of tasks task 1 we questioned people about the mining that is taking place and would it have a positive or a negative impact on the environment and the community . We had interview a total number of 38 people about the effects of the mines on the community and the environment. We had also went to the area that was going to be mined and saw how much of the biodiversity is going to be affected.