Environmental Affairs Minister Valli Moosa and the Eastern Cape legislature are on a collision course over plans to mine heavy minerals on the Pondoland coast and re-route the N2 national road through the area, says the Democratic Alliance.

The party has challenged the minister to prove who is boss over the proposed developments, which environmentalists have roundly condemned, saying that if allowed the schemes will wreck the area's pristine beauty and unique biodiversity.

In a statement on Wednesday, DA environmental affairs spokesperson Errol Moorcroft, who visited the area last week, said it was clear the provincial authorities "seem hellbent on allowing the mining development to continue".

He said the DA was firm in its belief that mining in the area would be tantamount to environmental vandalism.

"There could be no possible justification for allowing the Australian-based company, Mineral Resources, to mine the dunefields".

The Australian company currently holds a licence to prospect in the area, on land, which has also been earmarked for inclusion in the proposed Pondoland National Park.

Permission to mine has not been granted, although a minerals and energy affairs (MEA) spokesperson, contacted for comment last week, did not rule out this could be granted.

Asked if his department was in favour of mining in the area, MEA spokesperson Kanyo Gqulu told Sapa it was "not in favour, and not against".

Moosa is on record as saying that, in his view, mining the dunes in the area "will not be compatible with the development of eco-tourism in the area".

"I shall not support initiatives to this effect," he said in reply to a parliamentary question from Moorcroft recently.

The minister has also said he is opposed to re-routing the N2 through the area set aside for the establishment of the new national park.

Yesterday, Moorcroft said judging from the replies he had received, "it appears that Environmental Affairs Minister Moosa and the Eastern Cape provincial authority are heading for a head-on collision".

He said the minister "should express unequivocally his opposition to mining in this area, and give the assurance that he will use the powers vested in him to ensure that it does not happen".

"The proposed road will also inevitably impact negatively on the local communities and damage the environment. It should be opposed for financial, social and environmental reasons.

"The DA challenges the minister to prove that he is the boss," Moorcroft said. – Sapa.