(MENAFN- The Post)
WHAT is known as South Africa today took our land and is now taking water from Lesotho.
The human suffering caused by these actions have outweighed the potential benefits if there are any to be spoken of.
South Africa has benefited and is still benefiting and will be benefiting in the future while it has failed to create a win-win situation for both Lesotho and its citizens.
In the late 1700s Lesotho was birthed by a man known as King Moshoeshoe, who would later in his life fight migrants from the European nations.
This brave fighter had his battles with his then neighbours and Lesotho was formed from Gauteng to Kimberly to the ocean of the Eastern Cape to the Limpopo territorial lines.
The Europeans, in particular the British, came and after locating what was valuable then (coal, gold and diamond) started to fight for territory.
They then declared themselves owners of the land of Kimberly to Gauteng plus what is today Eastern Cape because of their riches.
They also located vast amounts of coal which was more in demand for their daily use.
We should remember the rail systems were the major consumers of the coal industry back home in England and they could see the possibilities of building an industrial hub around the Eastern Cape town of Molteno.
Coal was the energy source used to drive the Europeans' industrial revolution.
The Free State having 15 locations of coal just sitting on top was too good a chance to pass up.
Too many historians like to make diamond and gold seem as if they were the major resources but they required a lot more effort and expense while coal needed less expenses to extract (mine).
The British later decided to enter into an agreement with the Boers to help them with the then problematic person, King Moshoeshoe, and his people.
The British wanted the mining but it was too costly for them to keep bringing more supplies and soldiers from Britain.
They decided it would be better to first give the territory to the Boers by declaring them as owners of the territory they had been fighting over with King Moshoeshoe.
The Boer migrants were then recognised by other migrants, the British, on the African continent as owners of land which did not belong to any of them in the first place.
The territories belonging to Lesotho such as the Free State, Eastern Cape and parts of Gauteng are still not in the rightful owners.
Are we saying God placed Basotho on a rock of poverty?
The British migrant government with self-proclaimed powers took territory not belonging to them, which belonged to Basotho, and gave it to the Boers.
The British hatched a plan to act as if they were to come in good faith but defrauded King Moshoeshoe.
They acted as if they were acting on our behalf to stop the Boers from grabbing our land of Free State, Eastern Cape, Gauteng to Limpopo.
They had secured the riches found in those territories then called for peace, leaving Basotho on top of a rock.
The famous territory of diamonds, like Kimberly to the west, the infamous place for gold like Gauteng, Eastern Cape full of coal, and the Free State holding diamonds, lithium, uranium plus coal.
There are about 15 coal mines in the Free State which contribute about R20 billion a year to the Free State economy.
We find research identifying these places to be loaded with the next generation of wealth waiting to be explored.
In the Free State Province, the potential wealth of untold proportions in the Rare Earth Elements industry is waiting for the next boom and will propel those territories to the next level of wealth.
In this new world of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, such rare earth elements are crucial.
The Free State is estimated to have around 100 million tonnes, which makes it one of the largest Rare Earth Elements reserves in the world.
The Rare Earth Elements in the Free State are estimated to have a current market value of about US$1 trillion and that is because mining has not started and potentially could be much more.
The main Rare Earth Element bearing mineral in the Free State is monazite mineral that contains about 50% Rare Earth Element oxides.
Research shows that other Rare Earth Element-bearing minerals in the Free State include bastnasite, loparite, and xenotime.
The Rare Earth Elements found in the Free State include: Cerium, Lanthanum, Neodymium, Praseodymium, Samarium, Terbium, Ytterbium and Yttrium.
These Rare Earth Elements are used in a variety of applications, including: permanent magnets, electronic devices, catalytic converters, optical lenses and military applications.
Neodymium mineral is used in magnets, which are used in a variety of applications, such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and medical devices.
Praseodymium mineral is also used in magnets as well as in glass and ceramics.
The magnets are used in electronics allowing for creation of mini equipment which is why we have powerful yet small speakers and tiny microchips as a benefit of these magnets.
The application use for this element is vast.
Praseodymium is used to colour glass in shades of yellow, orange, and pink.
It is also used to make didymium glass which is used by welders making goggles to filter out yellow light.
Praseodymium is also used in optical glasses such as lenses for cameras and telescopes.
The praseodymium in these glasses helps to improve the transmission of light through the glass.
Praseodymium is also used in specialty glasses, such as glasses for lasers and fibre optic cables.
The praseodymium in these glasses helps to improve the performance of the glasses.
The US and Chinese military have built laser weapons because of the application of this element and also laser is used for everyday market that creates companies that increase production in an economy giving way to large economic activity of higher paying jobs.
The industrial application is worth every effort to have this element in production.
Lanthanum is a rare-earth metal that is used in a variety of applications, including magnets like samarium cobalt magnets.
Such magnets are used in a variety of applications, such as electric motors, generators, and hard disk drives.
The electric motor industry is estimated around US$106 billion annually going up to US$181 billion by 2028.
Lanthanum is also used in glass to give shades of pink, purple, and red.
It is also used to make some types of glass, such as lanthanum borosilicate glass.
This glass is used in some medical devices, such as contact lenses.
The eyewear glasses annual market value is estimated around $141 billion, while the spectacle market is estimated around $59 billion and that is yet another place Basotho are not involved.
Luminescent material is used in some items such as lanthanum activated phosphors.
These materials are used in lamps, televisions, and other devices that emit light.
How many televisions are in production across the globe today and we are not benefiting from the production and we are only consumers like we have no sense or say in the space valued about $94 billion annually.
Lanthanum is used as a catalyst in some chemical reactions, such as the production of plastics.
We use plastic in shoes, fake wood floors, fridges, microwaves and many more.
Lanthanum is used in some types of batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries.
Lanthanum is added to some metal alloys to improve their properties.
For example, lanthanum is added to aluminium alloys to make them stronger and more resistant to corrosion.
Aluminium alloys in many industries, including chemical vessels, the aircraft and aerospace industries as well as ships and vehicles, electrical power are used because they are light weight, have high strength to resist pressure and resistance to corrosion.
They are used to build submarines with a world market value of $30 billion to jump to $45 billion by 2033.
The other application is on commercial airplane industry with an annual market value $177 billion.
The military plain industry annual market value $740 billion to go beyond $830 by 2031 estimates.
The commercial ship market value is $2.2 trillion and is estimated that it will go beyond $4 by 2031.
The military warships market value is around $69 billion.
Terbium is a mineral used in lasers, phosphors, and catalysts.
Terbium is used in some types of lasers such as YAG laser.
This laser is used in surgery, eye surgery, and manufacturing.
The medical laser annual market value is around $500 million.
The Free State has over 100 tons of Rare Earth Elements with a market value over $1 trillion.
It also has an estimated 33.8 billion tons of coal with a market value of $405.6 billion.
They also have an estimated diamond deposits of 100 million carat with a market value of rough diamonds at $10 billion.
The Free State gold deposits are around 1 200 tons with a market value above $2 billion.
The Free State was part of King Moshoeshoe's crown jewel in all respects.
God did not put Basotho on a rock of poverty as he blessed them with soil, water, diamonds, gold, coal plus many of the earth's rare elements building the technologies of the new industrial age.
So why is Lesotho a nation supported by handouts? Why is the African Union not dealing with this matter? Why is the United Nations not dealing with this matter?
Why have the Lesotho government not dealt with this matter or is it not valuable enough to even waste time to discuss?
In 2022, Lesotho received about M5.2 billion from the mining sector.
The Free State received around R26 billion from the mining sector.
I guess R26 billion is something to sneeze at!
Teboho Matsinyane
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