Collapse of the Free State Goldfields, South Africa: lessons …
Forty years of gold-mining operations led Welkom, the main town created around the FSG mining operations, to become the second-largest urban area in the Free State. The gold boom came to an end in 1989, when the gold price dropped suddenly from about US$900 per ounce to about US$300.
What's left in the wake of South Africa's …
Thousands of abandoned gold mines are scattered across South Africa, polluting the water with toxics and filling the air with noxious dust. For the millions of people who live around these derelict sites, the …
MINE CLOSURE AND REHABILITATION IN SOUTH …
and the ongoing discourse around South Africa's pathway to a just transition, WWF South Arica and Mining Dialogues 360° (MD360) co-convened two colloquiums, one in Johannesburg in November 2019 and one in Cape Town in January 2020. The colloquiums brought together a wide range of stakeholders from academia, government
Challenges and strategies of abandoned mine rehabilitation in South …
The concern around abandoned mines in South Africa was evident as early as 1975 when the Chamber of Mines and the Department of Water Affairs concluded the Fanie Botha Accord which allocated responsibility for pollution control measures for abandoned mines. ... asbestos exports from the 8 remaining mines still ranked seventh …
Physical hazards of abandoned mines: A review of cases …
South Africa has 6100 abandoned mines of which 2322 of them are classified as high-risk mines found in areas of historic asbestos, gold, coal, and copper …
Gold Mine tours
Gold Mines of Savuka, TauTona and Mponeng that make up the most technically advanced mines in the world. Additionally the deepest mines, not only in South Africa, but in the world. Gold bearing reef layers are …
Evaluation of Trace Elemental Levels as Pollution
In the Blesbokspruit area of Ekuhurleni, South Africa, previous gold mining activities resulted in many tailings dump sites. 20 representative soil samples were used in describing the distribution of metals. The soils were very strongly acidic ranging from 3.86 to 4.34 with a low cation exchange capacity (CEC). Based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) …
Basotho Mineworkers and zama zama in Disused Commercial Gold Mines …
In South Africa, these same groups compete amongst other things for gold shaft in abandoned, disused mines and this has caused deaths for many of their members. For instance, in September 2015, 15 Basotho zama zama mineworkers were killed when they clashed at the Grootvlei Aurora mine in springs, Gauteng province (Molosankwe, …
The impact of artisanal mining on rehabilitation efforts of abandoned …
In South Africa, artisanal gold mining is commonly carried out around abandoned and historic mine sites. The magnitude at which these activities are carried out in South Africa can be seen through the fact that the Gauteng province alone is estimated to be having approximately 30 000 artisanal miners (also referred to as Zama-Zamas), …
Exploring strategies for management of disasters associated …
Abandoned mines and illegal mining: Global overview in relation to South Africa. Described by various terms (derelict, ownerless, abandoned, legacy, orphaned), abandoned mines are a global issue with millions of such sites likely to exist (Worrall et al. 2009).With various definitions, the common key characteristic of these sites is …
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in abandoned gold mines …
As a result, they have adapted the skills they acquired while employed in the formal mining industry and returned to South Africa to scavenge, rework and recycle leftover gold ore in abandoned gold mines (Mhlongo and Akintola, 2021). Most of these miners are from South Africa's immediate neighbours of Lesotho, Mozambique and …
Gangs battle over abandoned gold mines in South …
The country is believed to have approximately 6,000 abandoned mines and at least 1.6 million people living in informal settlements around Johannesburg, many of them on or near mine waste...
Impact of Illegal Mining at Historic Gold Mine …
Greenstone Belt area, South Africa N.C. Steenkamp*1 and V. Clark-Mostert1 1 TWP Projects Level 1, Building 54, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, ... is host to numerous abandoned gold mines
The Haunting Legacy of South Africa's Gold Mines …
Thousands of abandoned gold mines are scattered across South Africa, polluting the water with toxics and filling the air with noxious dust. For the millions of people who live around these derelict sites, the …
(PDF) Physicochemical properties, heavy metals, and …
Physicochemical properties, heavy metals, and metal-tolerant bacteria profiles of abandoned gold mine tailings in Krugersdorp, South Africa March 2020 Canadian Journal of Soil Science 100(3):1-17
Diamond diggers in South Africa's deserted mines …
November 27, 20225:01 AM ET. By. Tommy Trenchard. Enlarge this image. Jefferson Ncube, an illegal diamond miner from Zimbabwe, works on his latest tunnel at an abandoned De Beers mine near...
ARTICLE
abandoned gold mine sites in Krugersdorp at depths of 0–15 cm with a Dormer steel soil auger. The three sites as indicated in Fig.1 were mine tailings A (MA) (long ... The study area was Krugersdorp (26°6′ S, 27°46′ E), a mining town in Gauteng province, South Africa.Thethree sites asindicatedinthis figure wereMA(long 27.80764, lat−26 ...
Migrant Workers, Artisanal Gold Mining, and "More-Than …
In South Africa, criminal gold diggers, young men who migrate to Johannesburg for work and the excitement urban life affords, climb and crawl through abandoned gold mines that rank among the world's deepest hard rock diggings (World Bank, 2019).Remaining underground for days, and sometimes weeks or months on end, …
The Wake of South Africa's Abandoned Gold Mines
We have been covering Mining issues in South Africa extensively for the past 17 years but no subject on the matter is of greater importance than the absolute plethora of Abandoned Mines in South Africa and the devastation of Acid Mine Drainage pollution that is left in the wake. In 2008 the Auditor General of South Africa released a report on ...
The Haunting Legacy of South Africa's Gold Mines
Blyvooruitzicht is but one of thousands of abandoned mines scattered across South Africa, many from the gold industry. With recently shuttered mines adding to the massive impact of those left derelict years ago, the country faces a growing environmental, health, and social crisis created by a withering gold industry and inadequate oversight.
South Africa, gold mines continue poisoning communities
8 november 2018, by Mike Mwenda. Gold mines, even abandoned ones, are still poisoning thousands of people in South Africa due to high concentrations of heavy metals, radiation and contaminated water. Johannesburg, in South Africa was spawned by gold mining when the metal was discovered in the 1880s in the Witwatersrand …
Dangerous Economy Thrives in South Africa's Abandoned Gold Mines
Resize. MATHOLE, South Africa—In broad daylight, he is a thin, soft-spoken 23-year-old who stays immaculately clean in Converse All-Stars and khaki pants. But to make ends meet, Mduduzi Matjila ...
Diamond diggers in South Africa's deserted …
PHOTOS: South Africa's zama-zamas risk their lives in deserted diamond mines : Goats and Soda Photos show the desperate search for scraps left by big diamond operators. But amid rampant …
South Africa: R60-Billion Held for Mines that Are Never Closed
A data-driven investigation shows that nearly R60-billion is being held in funds for the rehabilitation of mines across South Africa. Mpumalanga, the country's most important coal-mining province, alone holds more than R17-billion. This money cannot be used for rehabilitation while a mine is still operational, but the Department of Mineral ...
South African Miners See Gold In Hills Of Waste | Barron's
South Africa has some 6,500 abandoned mines, many with abandoned slag heaps. Each tonne of rock and dirt has about 0.3 grammes of gold, making the painstaking search profitable and much less ...
(PDF) Assessment of Radon Concentration and Impact on
Assessment of Radon Concentration and Impact on Human Health in a Region Dominated by Abandoned Gold Mine Tailings Dams: A Case from the West Rand Region, South Africa
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in abandoned gold mines …
The land affected by mining operations is important in many ways: for farming, as a source of water or a wetland, as a wildlife habitat, or for other environmental or social purposes. The following section explores the abandoned mines, and how the zama zamas rework the leftover gold in these mines. 4. Abandoned mines in South …
Physical hazards of abandoned mines: A review of cases from South Africa
South Africa has 6100 abandoned mines of which 2322 of them are classified as high-risk mines found in areas of historic asbestos, gold, coal, and copper mining in the country ( AGSA, 2022 ). Members of the public (especially those of the host communities) are exposed to the physical hazards and risks of abandoned mines in …
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in …
In South Africa recycling or reworking of gold bearing ore in abandoned commercial mines is a growing practice. The extraction of residual gold ore from the …
The dark face of South Africa's illegal mining | Nation
Managers of Gold Fields South Africa walk in an operative area in the South Deep gold mine in Westonaria, Gauteng, on October 12, 2022. Photo credit: AFP Of those arrested, around 30 were charged with being in South Africa illegally, while a group of 14 were subsequently acquitted of rape, sexual assault and robbery, based on their DNA.