An investigation of the environmental impact of surface diamond mining along the arid west coast of South Africa
Master Thesis
1982
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Supervisors
Journal Title
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Faculty
License
Series
Abstract
An outline of the main features of the West Coast environment establishes that it has potential value for recreation, tourism and nature conservation,in addition to that of diamond mining, and that it is sensitive to disturbance. The diamond mining process is analysed and mining actions that cause environmental impact are identified. A matrix approach is employed to relate particular mining actions to specific environmental elements. It is found that there is major impact on scenic and vegetation elements and that primary impact is magnified significantly through the process of wind erosion. It is argued that much environmental impact can be prevented if the objective of environmental protection was incorporated into the management of mine sites and that unavoidable impact can be mitigated by rehabilitation,which is a reasonable requirement.
Description
Bibliography: leaves 178-188.
Keywords
Reference:
Talkenberg, W. 1982. An investigation of the environmental impact of surface diamond mining along the arid west coast of South Africa. University of Cape Town.