Breeding & Racing Magazine

Tungsten Mine Threatens South African Stud

Also in South Africa, Wilgerbosdrift Stud "is under threat by the proposed mining of tungsten in its vicinity," reported racingpost.com. Mary Slack (daughter of Harry Oppenheimer) is part of a high-profile coalition of landowners & environmentalists trying to block Bongani Minerals from mining tungsten in the Moutonshoek Valley (50km northwest of Piketberg). Slack declared: "A mine will just ruin the whole area. It's just a catastrophe, an environmental catastrophe & personally it's a catastrophe. I should think we have far greater possibilities of earning foreign exchange from horse exports than a lousy bit of tungsten." Wilgerbosdrift (established 10 years ago) has bred top performers including 2003 Horse-Of-The-Year Dynasty & 2006 Champion 2YO Filly Asylum Seeker.