The state of mine closure in South Africa - what the numbers say

Abstract

The consequences of ineffective mine closure in South Africa are evident from the number of abandoned mines and operations on extended care-and-maintenance, the on-selling of mines to less well-resourced companies to close, and increasing illegal mining activities. However, the data to substantiate these observations and provide insight into the underlying issues has not been available. Through the Promotion of Access to Information Act, a list of mine closure certificates applied for between 2011 and 2016 and a list of certificates granted over the same period for all nine regions of South Africa was obtained. From the analysis of this data, we show that the mine closure system as implemented in South Africa is largely ineffective. Although closure certificates are being granted, these are for prospecting sites and small-scale mines, which have a relatively small environmental impact. No large mines of any environmental significance were relinquished over the period under review, with very few applying for closure certificates. Furthermore, the issuing of closure certificates varies significantly between regional offices, with the success rate for applications being generally low and issuing of certificates taking an extended period.

Public disclosure of mine closures by listed South African mining companies

“…Incomplete data accompanied the information on mine closure applications in the Northern Cape, with records for the Springbok and Kimberly offices. The findings confirm the data fromWatson and Olalde (2019).…”

“…South Africa has close to 6000 derelict and ownerless mines (Auditor General, 2009) and a large number of mines under extended maintenance while awaiting closure certification (Miralas et al, 2014;Watson & Olalde, 2019). The Minerals Act of 1991 changed this when it required mining companies to develop an environmental management programme, a rehabilitation plan and stipulate post-mining provisions (Kung et al, 2020).…”

“…This legal framework complicates rather than clarifies mine closure procedures. The competing legislative environment and the involvement of numerous government departments fragments responsibilities and drives varied interpretations of legislation (Watson & Olalde, 2019). Furthermore, the appropriate skills required to regulate mine closure are often lacking (Miralas et al, 2014;Van Druten, 2017;Watson & Olalde, 2019).…”

“…The competing legislative environment and the involvement of numerous government departments fragments responsibilities and drives varied interpretations of legislation (Watson & Olalde, 2019). Furthermore, the appropriate skills required to regulate mine closure are often lacking (Miralas et al, 2014;Van Druten, 2017;Watson & Olalde, 2019). The complex legal context reinforces the idea of mine closure as exclusively an environmental consideration (in terms of water, rehabilitation and pollution), rather than also including social and local economic aspects.…”

The Miners

“…Despite extensive regulations on mine rehabilitation and safety, in practice there is little enforcement once they are abandoned or closed down (Legal Resources Centre [LRC], 2016;SAHRC, 2015). The national government is responsible for securing and rehabilitating closed or abandoned mines, but has lacked the capacity to do so (Bobbins, 2018) contracting the Council for Geoscience and Mintek, who has largely excluded mining communities and the Zama Zama from the process (Makhetha, 2020;South African Human Rights Commission [SAHRC], 2015; Watson, 2019). In reality, closed and abandoned mines are sealed with flimsy fencing, shafts are closed with a layer of thin concrete and some shafts have a single security guard lazily keeping watch.…”