Amandla! magazine | Issue 84

CLIMATE CRISIS

into Northwest Europe.
The Northern Cape has been
identified as a global hub for green
hydrogen because of its superior
renewable energy endowment of both
onshore wind and solar, the presence
of Platinum Group Minerals (PGM),
and the “availability of large tracts of
relatively cheap land for renewable energy
production”. Most of the land identified
for these mega projects is communal land
held in trust by the state for peoples who
are considered “first nation” and has yet
to be transferred to the community. In
the Northern Cape, four green metals
are mined: iron ore, copper, zinc, and
manganese. South Africa hosts 75% of

global manganese resources. Manganese
is central to the production of steel. It
is widely used in several low carbon
technologies, including wind turbines and
electric vehicles. In Pella in the Northern
Cape, Vedanta’s Zinc International has
a mega zinc mining operation and plans
to start smelting there by 2023. Zinc is
commonly used in electric and hybrid
cars, solar panels, and wind turbines.
Orion’s Namaqua-Disawell Project plans
to upscale the extraction of copper, and
new copper mines in towns like O’Kiep
and Concordia in Namaqualand are in the
pipeline.
The Department of Trade
and Industry, in partnership with
transnational corporations, has identified
two special economic zones with existing
port infrastructure as ideal to produce
green hydrogen and green ammonia a
gas widely used to make agricultural
fertilisers. Worryingly, special economic

zones permit the state and corporations

to escape normal environmental

requirements. Building solidarity between

communities affected by these new

“green” projects across the country will

be critical to strengthening organising,

securing the rights of impacted

communities, and stopping the most

damaging effects on people and oceans.

The Master Plans will require

significant new finance, which

Government intends to access from

international finance institutions, as well

as private sector investors. In addition,

South Africa will be the beneficiary of

a new package of $8.5 billion of grants

and concessional loans which aim to

accelerate the retirement of coal plants

and support the uptake of renewable

energy, with a special focus on green

hydrogen production and electric vehicle

manufacturing. The possibility of a new

slew of loans is alarming given that South

Africa’s debt servicing commitments have

ballooned since 2008/2009 - “the interest

costs of this debt have risen beyond

the annual budgets for health and basic

education.”

Along the west coast of South Africa,

the “blue” and “green” economies

intersect. Operation Phakisa, with its

focus on exploiting oceans, aims to

contribute R177 billion to GDP by 2033,

and to create one million jobs. “Blue”

investments include ports, boatbuilding,

aquaculture, scientific and seismic

surveys, coastal and marine tourism,

small harbours, and marine protection

services. Government sees the biggest

financial possibilities in new generation

offshore oil and gas extraction projects

and seabed mining.

We need alternative models

As the Blue Economy grows and seeks new

capital opportunities, the commons of the

ocean is being enclosed. On the West Coast

of South Africa, fishing communities are

saying no to oil and gas extraction, as well

as mining which they say could threaten

fishing stocks and vegetation and pose

health risks for residents. In Lutzville, the

fishers are confronting mining for mineral

sands used in industry, including zircon,

ilmenite, rutile, magnetite, and garnet.

Studies have confirmed that natural rutile

could significantly reduce global titanium

industry co2 emissions.

Currently there are at

least 10 applications

for prospecting for

drilling for gas and

oil as well as diamond

mining. At the end of

September the first

oil rig will arrive in

the coastal town of

Hondeklipbaai.

The rise of

green extractivism

is alarming and

fails to address

the developmental

interests and needs

of women and their

communities across

South Africa. Electricity

generated by large-

scale renewable

energy projects, and

the energy generated

from green and other

hydrogen projects,

will largely benefit

corporations and the

elite in South Africa, given the privatised

nature of our energy systems. Most of the

green hydrogen will be produced for export

to fuel the energy transition of the Global

North.

The rapid upscaling of green minerals

and metals extraction will only deepen

the crisis confronting rural communities

across South Africa. Their lands will be

grabbed and livelihoods destroyed with

minimal or no compensation and benefit.

Every week communities hear of new

applications for prospecting - companies

colluding with the state to make more

empty promises. It is obvious that with

the ongoing energy crisis as seen through

load shedding, we need alternatives to the

current extractive model of development.

Alex Hotz is is an activist and the

lead for the SA program of WoMin.

She is a member of the Amandla!

Collective.

A lithium mine in northern Chile.

A typical electric vehicle battery

pack, for example, needs around 8

kilograms of lithium.