This is Xolobeni, a remote village on the eastern shore of South Africa and the focus of a bitter dispute over a massive titanium mining project. In March a prominent critic of the mining project – a local taxi firm boss known as Sikhosiphi “Bazooka” Rhadebe – was shot dead in front of his teenage son. “It’s important to understand that the Xolobeni mining lease area does not impeach [on] pristine coastal dunes, [and] rehabilitation will leave the land reshaped for arable farming use. But the role mining plays in South Africa’s economy and politics is evolving. Mbuthuma is adamant there will never be mining in Xolobeni, whatever the government or judges decide.

Source: The Guardian June 11, 2016 23:03 UTC