IPC opposes Sandpiper phosphate mining project

The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) says it is against the Sandpiper Marine Phosphate project due to environmental, social and public health concerns.

The project proposes offshore phosphate mining through dredging the seabed for phosphate-rich sand. It received an environmental clearance certificate on 5 August.

IPC shadow minister of environment and tourism Rodrick Likando says countries that have mined phosphate, including Tunisia, Jordan and Nauru, have suffered the consequences of such mining.

“Communities were once told that phosphate extraction would bring prosperity with manageable environmental cost.

“The evidence from all three countries tells a starkly different story, one of poisoned water, sick children, barren land, and a national economy hollowed out once the resource was gone and the companies had moved on,” Likando says in a press release on Friday.

In Tunisia, communities near phosphate mines have high rates of cancer and respiratory conditions in children, he says.