‘Forever mines’: South Africa’s abandoned coal mines pose deadly risks

On Sunday evening in 2019, a South African family faced its worst nightmare. 

Their two children, Machaba, 8, and Itumeleng, 9, as well as their friend, Pabalelo Mokgethwa did not return home after going out to play.

The family didn’t want to anticipate the worst case scenario until they found children's clothes next to an abandoned mine filled with rainwater. 

A few hours later, three bodies were retrieved from the dam.

The terrifying incident is not new to the country that is home to hundreds of unrehabilitated coal mines. Children often try to swim in them thinking it’s safe but end up falling in the pits that are not marked dangerous after they are abandoned.

Despite the years-long problem, there is little done to clean up the abandoned coal mines in Mpumalanga province, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report published on July 5.

“The government should ensure that mining companies that profited from years of mining coal do not avoid their responsibilities to clean up the toxic mess they have left behind,” Vuyisile Ncube, Finberg fellow in the Environment and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch said in the report. 

Only 27 mines of the 2,322 are classified as “high-risk” across the country, including coal mines that have been cleaned up since 2009, South Africa’s auditor general reported in 2021. There are no fewer than 400 abandoned coal mines in South Africa, according to government records.

Safety hazards in myriad of ways

In addition to the risk of injury and death, the toxic legacy of abandoned mines also threaten safety and health of locals in a myriad of ways, the HRW says.

The highly acidic water often found in abandoned coal mines  pollutes water sources by leaching of heavy metals in water. Pollution caused by the mines not only renders water unusable, it also corrodes municipal infrastructure for water delivery.

The report also points out that unsecured mines pose an ongoing risk for artisanal miners who risk their lives with little protective equipment and no health and safety nets. 

Unknown number of deaths

The artisanal miners interviewed by the HRW say the deaths caused by the abandoned mines are much higher than reported in local media, as illegal miners’ death often remains unrecorded.

The miners and residents in Mpumalanga also revealed that they received no warning from authorities about the risks posed by unrehabilitated mines. Lack of basic information also prevented the locals from understanding the risks that water quality poses and the possible extent of accidents.

“There are hundreds of unrehabilitated coal mines among the over 6,000 mines in South Africa that need to be cleaned up,” HRW’s Ncube said, urging the government to hold mining companies accountable.

“The government has a responsibility to ensure that communities don’t suffer from these ‘forever mines.’ It should take urgent steps to ensure adequate rehabilitation of the land by mining companies,” Ncube said.