The impact of artisanal mining on rehabilitation efforts of abandoned mine shafts in Sutherland goldfield, South Africa

Abandoned gold mine sites are generally characterised by severe environmental problems and physical hazards. Because of socio-economic problems confronting communities around abandoned mine sites, historic and abandoned gold mines have become hot-spots for artisanal and small-scale miners. These min...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Jamba 2019, Vol.11 (2), p.1-7
Main Authors: Mhlongo, Sphiwe E., Momoh, Abuh, Gitari, Wilson M., Muzerengi, Confidence, Amponsah-Dacosta, Francis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abandoned Mine Shafts
Abandoned mines
Artisanal Gold Mining
Birthdays
Collars
Cost recovery
Environmental protection
Excavation
Field investigations
Gold
Gold mines & mining
Gold mining
Hazards
Historic buildings & sites
Historic sites
Historical metallurgy
Humanities, Multidisciplinary
Mine shafts
Mineral resources
Miners
Mining
Mining accidents & safety
Original Research
Rehabilitation
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
South Africa
Sutherland Goldfield
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abandoned gold mine sites are generally characterised by severe environmental problems and physical hazards. Because of socio-economic problems confronting communities around abandoned mine sites, historic and abandoned gold mines have become hot-spots for artisanal and small-scale miners. These mining activities at times thwart the efforts of rehabilitation at these sites. This article details how artisanal mining operations have frustrated rehabilitation efforts of abandoned mine shafts in the Sutherland goldfield. The field investigation of abandoned shafts and analysis of the nature of artisanal mining operations in the Sutherland goldfield revealed that artisanal mining involving digging around collars of sealed shafts is a major threat to the stability of the shafts and their sealing structures. In addition, artisanal mining operations have increased the safety risks of the abandoned shafts in the area. This has also been worsened by the fact that a large number of people, especially women and children, are exposed to the hazards of the abandoned mine sites. This article emphasises an urgent need for the development of holistic and cohesive strategies for dealing with the problems of abandoned gold mine shafts wherever they exist in the country as opposed to simply closing them up.
ISSN:1996-1421
2072-845X
1996-1421
DOI:10.4102/jamba.v11i2.688