Proposed sand mine at Schoenies could kill rare formations
IF the proposed Schoenmakerskop sand mine goes ahead, it could kill the rare coastal stromatolite formations in the area, according to a wetland specialist.
Port Elizabeth-based Dr Japie Buckle, the national head of natural resource management in the Department of Environmental Affairs, said the stromatolites – flagged in April in a landmark NMMU research presentation – relied on a system of seeps.
These seeps were thin streams of water released on a constant basis from small catchments beneath the dunes.
“The dunes, which are high in calcium carbonate, sit on top of a semi-impervious layer of concrete-like material,” Buckle said.
“This impervious layer helps retain rainwater, which is then slowly released through the dune system, feeding the seep wetlands.”
The catchments occur in the dunefields set back from the immediate coastline so it is important that this area remains intact.
“If you remove these catchment dunes, water will be released rapidly after rains, causing flow surges,” Buckle said.
For the stromatolites, this would be disastrous, he said.
“The stromatolite system is fed by slowly released calcium carbonate-laden water, which would be disrupted by variations in flow,” Buckle said.
“Large flow variations could affect the calcium carbonate concentrations in the water, killing off the stromatolites.”
Stromatolites are among the longest living forms of life on the planet, with some of them dating back 3.5 billion years.
They are formed by marine microbes that trap sediment and this material forms a sticky film which cements over time into low, wavy walls.
Hailing their discovery around Port Elizabeth, NMMU Institute for Coastal and Marine Research’s Dr Gavin Rishworth said these intertidal stromatolites occurred on the coasts of only two other spots globally – in Northern Ireland and Western Australia.
Port Elizabeth’s stromatolites probably played an important buffering role preventing nutrient overloads like sewage, for instance, polluting the coast, and the best examples at Schoenmakerskop, Cape Recife and Seaview could become the centrepiece of a new ecotourism programme, Rishworth said.
The proposed mine, situated just off the west edge of Victoria Drive above Schoenmakerskop, has been mooted by Schoenmakers Mining, a holding company of Glendore Sand and Stone.
Schoenmakerskop Ratepayers’ Association chairman Andre Lemmer said that from an environmental perspective, this appeared to be yet another significant factor to take into account regarding the inadvisability of allowing the sand mine proposal to go ahead.