Thousands of abandoned mines litter South Africa, and many communities are stuck living in their shadow. Abandoned coal mines pose a grave ecological risk to these communities, polluting critical water sources and arable land, and specifically endanger the safety and lives of people who return to these unsafe mines in the hopes of earning a scant income. So what's going on? When a company opens a mine, they are legally required to ensure that when the mining stops, the mine can be decommissioned to appropriate standards. But this isn’t happening. Since there is no profit in making a decommissioned mine safe, many companies simply abandon them and move on, putting local communities at risk. And the South African government has done little or nothing to rectify this. We spoke with Environment and Human Rights Fellow Vuyisile Ncube about her new report and how we can ensure communities are able to push the government to do better, including by holding mining companies to account. READ MORE »
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