Open HSME menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / S. African Coal Mines Leave A Legacy of Ruin

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

MORE

  • Press Release
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Open HSME menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / S. African Coal Mines Leave A Legacy of Ruin

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

MORE

  • Press Release
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Safety Signage
  • Heat and Flame
  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Air Pollution
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Offshore Platform Safety
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

Press Release

S. African Coal Mines Leave A Legacy of Ruin

By Paul Edwards

| Read Bio

Published: April 10th, 2017

Share this article

A 19-month data investigation of mine closures indicates that since at least 2011 no large coal mines operating in South Africa have been granted closure.

This means the mines have not been rehabilitated and are simply abandoned, leaving a legacy of local and global pollution.

The country’s operating and abandoned coal mines release greenhouse gases with a global warming effect equivalent to up to 4.3-million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, estimates mining consulting firm Latona Consulting. That roughly equates to consuming 10-million barrels of oil and could be significantly decreased with proper mine rehabilitation, including backfilling pits, sealing shafts and replanting flora.

“The Department of Mineral Resources has been totally incapable of closing individual mines,” said David Hallowes, a coal researcher at the non-profit organisation groundWork. “A lot of this land is high productive agricultural land, and it’s ruined. End of story.”

Never-before-seen data released by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in response to Oxpeckers requests under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) exposes a system of mine closure in which large operations rarely apply for closure certificates and almost never receive them. Without a closure certificate, liability cannot transfer from a mining company to the government and a mine is not considered legally closed.

For the full article, click here

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Edwards

Digital Market Apprentice at Bay Publishing, curating what gets published across all of our digital products. If you spot a mistake or would like to read more about a certain topic on any of our magazine websites let me know using the contact button above.

POPULAR POSTS BY Paul Edwards

Press Release

Digital Technology To Drive Mining Health and Safety

Press Release

Unprecedented Malware Targets Industrial Safety Systems

Press Release

How a Helmet Device Could Save Lives

Press Release

55 Workers Fall Ill In Sharjah

Press Release

Lonmin Zero Harm Strategy Reaps Rewards

Press Release

Al Rayyan Passes Five Million Hours Safety Mark

Get email updates

Sign up for the HSME newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with the region's only industrial health and safety magazine - delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSME on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HSMEMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSME on Twitter

hsmemagazine HSME Magazine @hsmemagazine ·
23h

isafe MOBILE announces the immediate availability of the world’s first 5G smartphone for ATEX and IECEx zone 1/21.

The IS540.1 is available immediately, find out more today: https://www.hsmemagazine.com/press-release/is540-1-available-now/

#hsmemagazine #isafeMOBILE #ATEX #IECEx

Reply on Twitter 1620747838971088898 Retweet on Twitter 1620747838971088898 Like on Twitter 1620747838971088898 2 Twitter 1620747838971088898

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with the region’s only industrial health and safety magazine – delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO HSME MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how occupational safety has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of HSME, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the best health & safety articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About HSME
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to HSME

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT