The community of Thusi Village gather together and wait for a supply of coal, which will keep them warm during the winter months and provide fuel for cooking. As hundreds of people congregate, I witness a frenzy and air of desperation as men, women and children with bags and buckets in hand begin collecting the best of the coal provided by the Golfview Mine. I later discovered that this was ‘dirty coal’, the waste left behind once the high grade coal has been trucked off to buyers worldwide. Dirty coal is a major health risk, though the community of Thusi Village know very little about its dangers. Big Boy Mkhwanazi, a spokesman for the community, explains that Golfview and other mines attempt to earn the trust of the local community by providing ‘dirty coal’. Yet their activities damage homes and pollute the natural water resources. Golfview Mining was found guilty on 17 October 2012 of various contraventions of the National Environmental Management Act of 1998 and the National Water Act of 1998 and

The exhumation by Anglo Platinum’s RPM Mogalakwena Section Mine of 149 graves from a section of the Blinkwater farm was not without controversy. A mechanical digger was used in the process. Some bones were broken as a result and the skeletons were not all kept separate. Community members became suspicious when they were restricted from witnessing the exhumation of family members. The situation was further exacerbated when on the day of reburial they noticed that the number of coffins did not correspond to the number of exhumed graves. Protests ensued, and 47 people were arrested. After failed attempts to stop the reburial, the bodies were swiftly buried. The archaeologist Frans Roodt from the Limpopo Heritage Resources Agency was approached to help and after an investigation lasting several years by Amanda Esterhuysen and forensic anthropologist Professor Maryna Steyn of the University of Pretoria, their findings were shared with the community of Sekuruwe. On 27 November 2012 the remains of 149 people were

Zoyisile Mgqatsa, 50, started his mining career as a rock drill operator at Merriespruit Mine in January 1983. He then worked for Freegold 2 and 4, which later became Tshepong Gold Mine. In 2006 he developed a severe cough and after a check-up at the Ernest Oppenheimer Hospital he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He continued to work as a chair lift operator. In April 2012 he was diagnosed with incurable silicosis. He was then dismissed, being accused of helping informal diggers by smuggling gold-bearing rubble out of the mine. He believes his dismissal is a way for his employer to avoid offering him compensation for his illness. Though he has sought help from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), to date he has not received any compensation. He now survives on an allowance from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). He supports his family in the Eastern Cape, including a son at university, but his deteriorating health and financial burdens are becoming a major concern for him. In

Mahlomola William Melato rests during the heat of the day at his home in Oppenheimer Park. Since being diagnosed with silicosis, Mahlomola’s weight dropped from 80 kg to 49 kg. He suffered from shortness of breath, a debilitating cough, general body weakness and discoloration of the skin. In 1986 Mahlomola began an apprenticeship at the Harmony Gold Mine in Welkom as a boilermaker. After completing his apprenticeship in 1990, he became a teacher but returned to the mining industry in 2007. In 2008 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and in 2010 with silicosis, previously known as miner’s phthisis, and was laid off from his job. He said, ‘Young men who started on the mine as an apprentice did not know the risk of TB and silicosis. If I knew the risks involved I would not have worked in the mines.’Though he signed a Medical Incapacity Agreement with Harmony Gold Mining Company, which stipulated that if he became medically incapacitated he must be given an alternative position as well as medical assistanc

Anna and her husband, Martiens Grobler, moved onto their farm in Witbank in 1988 and have lived there for 24 years. They share the farm with their son and daughter, who both have families of their own. Seven years ago Westcoal Mine began extracting coal on the border of their property. Soon after mining commenced, the Grobler family’s health began to deteriorate. Anna’s breathing has been badly affected and she relies on respiratory apparatus to relieve the tension in her lungs due to coal dust inhalation. The family members suffer from sinus problems and take antihistamine pills to relieve the symptoms. Anna’s grandson often wakes up with a bleeding nose and sleeps with a steam machine in his room to clean the air. Black dust is a constant problem, as it settles on the walls and furniture, and windows and doors need to be kept closed. The value of the property has also been drastically reduced.

The suburb of Diamanthoogte (‘Diamond Heights’) is home to a predominantly coloured community that lives on the outskirts of the diamond-mining town of Koffiefontein in the Free State province. During the summer months children enjoy swimming in the canals, which they refer to as the ‘Long Sea’. The canals carry the overflow of water through the town from Kalkfontein Dam and the mine dam to outlying farms. Koffiefontein became a stopover point for transport riders travelling between the diamond fields in the south and the gold mines to the north during the 1800s. After diamonds were discovered here, Koffiefontein developed into a mining town. The town has a significant military history; it was seized by the British during the South African (Anglo-Boer) War and was later used as a detention camp in the Second World War. Among the internees was John Vorster, who later became prime minister and president of South Africa. The mine has been closed several times over the years but continues to recover some

Felix Ngwenya and Nkosana Ncube rest in the early afternoon sun on Melville Koppies overlooking the Witwatersrand Basin, where the world’s largest known gold reserve is situated. They are part of the Twelve Apostles Church in Zimbabwe. Felix moved to Johannesburg in 1991 and Nkosana arrived in 2010. They have come to pray and fast from sunrise to sunset. Melville Koppies has become a sacred site for worship and prayer for several African religious groups. Felix says, ‘It is a place where we can gather our thoughts, it is peaceful and helps us release stress.’ Melville Koppies is also a site of historical importance where remains of an Iron Age community have been unearthed. The Koppies are a reminder of the indigenous landscape of the Witwatersrand and the ancestors of the present Tswana population, before the discovery of gold and the resulting development of Johannesburg.

The mining industry in South Africa is a big deal. Ever since diamonds were discovered in the depths of the South African land in the 1860s, mining activities exploded, and kept flourishing as gold, coal, copper and platinum also started turning up. The mines have boosted an economic development in the Rainbow Nation that no other African country has experienced, and continues to be the engine of South Africa’s economy.

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Photo Vasantha Yogananthan

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