It is still not clear who should rehabilitate the old mines that are continuing to endanger the lives of mining-affected communities.
Recently, Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy said his department was not obliged to rehabilitate old and disused mines – a comment that angered the civil society groups.
Mantashe made the utterances when appearing at the South African Human Rights Commission inquiry into artisanal mining a few days ago.
The department of mineral resources (DMRE) released a statement in 2024 saying there were significant strides made in rehabilitating derelict and ownerless mines.
“At least four asbestos mines in Limpopo and Northern Cape had been rehabilitated. A total of 280 mine openings had been safely closed. This was made possible by an additional funding of R180 million allocated to the programme in the previous financial year.
“For the current financial year, a further R134.7 million was transferred to Mintek to continue this important work, the statement read.
Mine closure fund
Criticising the minister, activists and experts said it was his department’s responsibility to rehabilitate the environment and save the lives of those in mining towns.
Mining expert David Van Wyk said DMRE was obliged to rehabilitate the damaged environment in the case where mining firms did not do so when they decided to leave.
Van Wyk said Mantashe was responsible to use the mine closure fund for that purpose.
Van Wyk said that all mining companies were required by law to submit funds to a central rehabilitation fund.
“That fund, we believe, has more than R50 billion in it. We believe that the closure and rehabilitation backlog is so big that it would require more than R200 billion to repair the damage of more than 2 000 abandoned, derelict and ownerless mines.
“Every mining operation, in theory, should mine towards closure and rehabilitation. However, mines do not do that.”
Pule Khoza, an activist from Enough is Enough, an organisation that has been fighting for justice of two children who died after falling into a sinkhole left behind by a mining firm in Klarinet, Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, has also criticised the minister.
“The government passed laws and obligations that governs the mining rehabilitation through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act which is directly in his department.”
He said the fund must ensure rehabilitation compliance takes place through the trust.
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