SWAKOPMUND – The sand mining industry at the coastal town of Swakopmund has been severely affected by the flowing Swakop River.
The Swakop River has been flowing strongly due to continuous rain inland last week, and sand mining pits in its surroundings have thus been filled with water. Most of the sand miners in the Swakop River such as Baard Transport, Salt Gossow and Group Five were caught off-guard and did not expect the river to flow, as it last happened in 2009.In an interview with Nampa, the owner of Coastal Cement Works, Joshua Swartbooi, said he was out of town for two weeks when the Swakop River started flowing, and still has not assessed how much damage the river has caused to the sand pits.’I am very disappointed by the news, because the construction, cement and brick-making industries rely heavily on the supply of sand,’ Swartbooi said.He said his employees are now trying to dig further downstream, but the quality of the sand from the new pits is not the same as sand from the old pits.Where they are digging now downstream, there is a mixture of muddy patches of sand, but also good quality sand, he said. The sand miners have now build sandbanks to block the river from crossing over into the new digging area. – Nampa
