4.2 Mining Beneficiation . An agreement had been signed by the mining companies who are mining granite in the area to dispose their waste blocks to Kamiesberg Municipality for the manufacturing of tiles, table tops, thombstones, etc. . The Municipality started with the project in 2000, but were faced with a shortage of funding and equipment and it had to be revived. . Kamiesberg, situated in the succulent Karoo, is the only arid hotspot in the world. . Namaqua National Park lies in the Kamiesberg and is about to expand along the Atlantic ocean to the Groen River. . A National tourism asset can be established thus creating an increasing number of jobs. . Different tourism routes are proposed like flower routes, history routes, etc. . PDIs run Kookskerms on the same basis as a franchise, and they are well supported by CI and DBSA. . A Proposed sustainable regional economic hub, called the Living Edge, is to be developed on the old Koignaas mines. . It is envisaged that this development will create 300 permanent jobs. . This project will be in partnership with De Beers and Eden in Cornwill England. . This will be a multi-faceted project in that it will tackle social, developmental and environmental challenges.