A documented scarcity of mineral deposits in the pristine Cape Winelands area has led some residents and landowners to believe that a state-owned mining company's application to prospect in the area is a front for plans to expropriate the land.

The Department of Minerals and Energy on January 13 provisionally accepted an application from African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation's (AEMFC) - owned by the Central Energy Fund - to prospect for tin, zinc, silver and other mineral deposits in the Tygerberg and Stellenbosch areas.

Owner of Jordan wines, Gary Jordon, said at a public meeting held at Zevenwacht Wine Estate that geologists pointed out that there wasn't enough tin in the area "to even consider mining".

He said the area has been eyed by many mining companies in the past, and mines which were opened have been closed for decades as mining there was not economically viable.

"Upon searching the area, the Council for Geoscience discovered that there appears to not be much mineral deposits for that area," said DA, Shadow Deputy Minister of Mining, Hendrik Schmidt.

Schmidt said as a result, people were "becoming concerned" that the land may be expropriated for low-cost housing and land restitution.

That the state is acting as both referee and player in the application have is a concern raised by prominent organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund for nature (WWF); the Cape Winemakers Guild; and the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance.

As a state-owned company, AEMFC has apparently been exempted from many provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 in terms of mining rights, prospecting rights, and mining permits.

Residents and landowners say this gives the company an unfair advantage.

"It is quite clear that the AEMFC is both player and referee regarding this application and it will be impossible to get a fair judgement on the matter," said Jordan.

"We are up against a process where the state in the form of the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) reviews and decides the outcome of its own state-owned company," he said.

The WWF has also opposed the application on the grounds that part of the area is a UNESCO registered conservancy and is home to endangered species of flora and fauna.

"WWF does not understand the strategic nature nor the economic value or viability of mining these prospective sites and questions AEMFC's role in this regard," said Inge Kotze, Project Coordinator of WWF's Biodiversity & Wine Initiative in a statement.

Kotze said the long term effects on biodiversity and water catchments would be "devastating".

The application is to be "vigorously opposed" by Wines of South Africa (WOSA), said WOSA CEO Su (subs: Su) Birch.

"It makes neither environmental nor economic sense. Mining would scar the landscape and decrease the jobs available. The beautiful winelands and open spaces in conservation areas are huge tourist attractions, with wine tourism emerging as one of the fastest growing economic drivers of the Western Cape."

The Department of Minerals and Energy mineral resources spokesperson Jeremy Michaels, said the application would be considered "within the limits of the relevant legislation".

"We will consider the application without fear or favour, regardless of who the applicant is," he said.

Farms affected:

Langverwacht Annex Langverwacht 245 (which includes Saxenburg, Jordan, Langverwacht and Zevenwacht Estates), Haasendal 222 and the remaining extent of Rosendal 249. Another application includes prospecting rights over Highlands, Hooggelegen and the farm De Grendel. in the Tygerberg/Durbanville area.