MINING (164)
Zuma-linked mine dealt legal blow
Tuesday, 04 July 2017 13:02In arguing against Atha-Africa and its BEE partner being given a mining right in a formally protected area, a civil society coalition said the proposed 15-year coal mine would cause “unacceptable pollution and degradation of the environment”. But their main point to the court was that a “poor decision-making process” had led to the granting of the right.
Converting mining challenges into opportunities
Monday, 03 July 2017 10:42The mining industry accounts for about 20% of all investment in South Africa and generates R 441 billion in expenditure annually, of which R 407 billion is spent locally.
Despite its importance, the mining industry is facing severe pressure on various fronts, including costs, environmental liability, and the lack of a cohesive strategy in terms of minerals demanded by the future green economy.
R60 Billion held for mines that are never closed
Thursday, 18 May 2017 17:42Never-before-seen data shows a fortune has been set aside for mine rehabilitation in South Africa. But large mines are not being properly closed, and the money cannot be touched. Mark Olalde investigates
Tough times for S.Africa town blighted by mine closure
Tuesday, 30 May 2017 17:36The closure of the mine at Blyvooruitzicht, which sat on one of South Africa's richest gold deposits, threw all 1,700 workers out of a job.
Open-cast· coal mine a threat to Springs wetland
Saturday, 03 June 2017 12:44WITH hands covered with liver spots, Stan Madden points out the expanse of Aston Lake glimmering in the distance Fields of near-ripened mealies and clusters of soya beans stretch across this fertile, wetland-sodden landscape on the outskirts of Springs
Ransacked Gold Mine Venture Reboots
Tuesday, 11 April 2017 19:32South African mining veteran Peter Skeat is pressing ahead with plans to squeeze more gold out of an 80-year-old ransacked gold mine west of Johannesburg after settling a dispute with three former partners.
Coal Mines leave a legacy of ruin
Tuesday, 11 April 2017 18:57Oxpeckers publishes never-before-seen data exposing the lack of mine closures, despite R45-billion being held in financial provisions for rehabilitation in 2015. Investigation by Mark Olalde
Tours of West Rand gold fields
Monday, 06 March 2017 17:39The FSE conducts regular tours with interested and affected parties, of the West Rand gold fields and Sibanye Gold’s operations.
Mine Shafts: Accidents waiting to happen
Monday, 06 March 2017 07:47
Eighty-two shafts without warning signs. Twenty-two open shafts. Three waterlogged holings. And of the reported closed mine shafts, 64 had collapsed or needed refilling.
These are among the main findings of a Department of Mineral Resources’ “Risk Area Status” report spanning the Witwatersrand’s mining belt from November 2011.
From Gold Town to Ghost Town
Friday, 10 February 2017 12:02Blyvooruitzicht, a once prosperous mine town, has become a haven for criminals. Residents fear for their lives following the closure of the town's gold mine in 2013.
Residents left in the dark over AMD treatment
Monday, 13 February 2017 11:54The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has been accused of “authorising pollution”, after its water quality tests for its acid mine drainage (AMD) plants in the Witwatersrand surpassed the government’s own water resource quality objectives.
A most significant threat
Wednesday, 23 November 2016 14:39Fifteen years ago, the cost to fill South Africa’s sinkholes exceeded R1 billion. That number has risen, and the effects are more than disastrous, writes Mark Olalde
The Destruction of the Highveld
Friday, 18 November 2016 21:07"Various organisations have done critical work on understanding the impacts on mining in 2016. The Centre for Environmental Rights has exposed the brutal reality of poor governance and its entrenched nature. The Centre for Applied Legal Studies has clearly shown that the Social Labour Plans, promising a new life for those whose lands are destroyed, has failed to deliver. The writing is on the wall. Mining does not work for people."
Download the full report:www.groundwork.org.za
Truth of the dust that brings death
Friday, 28 October 2016 19:11A new hard-hitting report from Harvard Law School details how South Africa has failed to meet its human rights obligations concerning gold mining in and around Joburg. Bonnie Docherty, who led the research, spoke to Sheree Bega
Johannesburg - Great riches and high risks. That’s the story of gold mining on the Witwatersrand, where the sparkle of the gold rush led to a boom that would give rise to Joburg, turning it into one of the most powerful cities on the continent. But the hunt for gold would also irrevocably alter our socio-political and natural landscape.