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The Real Cost of Gold Mining in South Africa 

https://www.environment.co.za/mining-2/acid-mine-drainage-cost-gold.html

Informational Warning sign in three Languages warning of the Water Contamination in the Wonderfonteinspruit due to Acid Mine Drainage, Carletonville, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the flow, or seepage, of polluted water from old mining areas. Depending on the area, the water may contain toxic heavy metals and radioactive particles. These are dangerous for people’s health, as well as plants and animals. On the West Rand, toxic water has already destroyed life in the , WonderfonteinSpruit, Tweelopiespruit, Tudor Dam and the Robinson Lake near Randfontein. Even some borehole water is polluted. In some areas the water has polluted the soil, so people cannot grow vegetables. The Tweelopiespruit is part of the Crocodile River system and the Limpopo River catchment area.

South Africa has failed to meet its human rights obligations to address the environmental and health effects of gold mining in and around Johannesburg, the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) said in a new report released today (click to download it).

The 113-page report, The Cost of Gold, documents the threats posed by water, air, and soil pollution from mining in the West and Central Rand. Acid mine drainage has contaminated water bodies that residents use to irrigate crops, water livestock, wash clothes, and swim. Dust from mine waste dumps has blanketed communities. The government has allowed homes to be built near and sometimes on those toxic and radioactive dumps.

Examining the situation through a human rights lens, the report finds that South Africa has not fully complied with constitutional or international law. The government has not only inadequately mitigated the harm from abandoned and active mines, but it has also offered scant warnings of the risks, performed few scientific studies about the health effects, and rarely engaged with residents on mining matters.

Young children who live and play on Radioactive Uranium Mine Tailings at the Tudor Shaft Settlement, West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Acid Mine Drainage is a problem that has been ignored through sheer complacency for over 130 years.

This derelict landscape of the Robinson Dam in Randfontein, South Africa is all that remains of what was once a popular vacation spot. Raw and highly toxic mine effluent, highly radioactive and toxic, was pumped into this dam for years by nearby Gold mining companies. The area is now devoid of all forms of life and no current remediation is being done to clean up this environmental disaster. Acid mine drainage is a serious problem in the Gauteng province of South Africa as a result of over 130 years of Gold mining. Poor governance and complacency have led to an environmental disaster of epic proportion.

“Gold mining has both endangered and disempowered the people of the West and Central Rand,” said Bonnie Docherty, senior clinical instructor at IHRC and the report’s lead author. “Despite some signs of progress, the government’s response to the crisis has been insufficient and unacceptably slow.”

The report is based on three research trips to the region and more than 200 interviews with community members, government officials, industry representatives, civil society advocates, and scientific and legal experts. It provides an in-depth look at gold mining’s adverse impacts and examines the shortcomings of the government’s reaction.

The Radioactive Robinson Lake back in 2010 when the area was still fenced off with warning signs. The area today is now devoid of all life as seen in the photo in the paragraph above. For years raw acid mine drainage from nearby gold mines was pumped into this once thriving holiday spot. As of 2016 all fencing has been removed and all poison warning signs have been removed by either the gold mining company responsible for this disaster or the government themselves. See photo below of the fencing and warning signs posted back in 2010.

For example, although acid mine drainage reached the surface of the West Rand in 2002, the government waited 10 years before establishing a plant that could stem its flow. In addition, the government has not ensured the implementation of dust control measures and has left industry to determine how to remove the waste dumps dominating the landscape.

The Cost of Gold calls on South Africa to develop a coordinated and comprehensive program that deals with the range of problems associated with gold mining in the region. While industry and communities have a significant role to play, the report focuses on the responsibility of the government, which is legally obliged to promote human rights.

Poison warning signs notifying the public of the toxicity levels of the Robinson Lake which were photographed here in 2010. As of 2016 all fencing and signs have been removed and anyone has unhindered access to this highly toxic and radioactive wasteland.

The government has taken some positive steps to deal the situation in the West and Central Rand. This year, it pledged to improve levels of water treatment by 2020. In 2011, it relocated residents of the Tudor Shaft informal settlement living directly on top of a tailings dam. The government along with industry has also made efforts to increase engagement with communities.

Nevertheless, The Cost of Gold finds that the government’s delayed response and piecemeal approach falls short of South Africa’s duties under human rights law. As a result, the impacts of mining continue to infringe on residents’ rights to health, water, and a healthy environment, as well as rights to receive information and participate in decision making.

Clear signs of the effects of Acid Mine Drainage on the Witwatersrand of South Africa as photographed from an aircraft just outside the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Leaching of heavy metals such as iron pyrite and radioactive uranium cause what is termed acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage is a serious problem in the Gauteng province of South Africa as a result of over 130 years of Gold mining. Poor governance and complacency have led to an environmental disaster of epic proportion.

“The government should act immediately to address the ongoing threats from gold mining, and it should develop a more complete solution to prevent future harm,” Docherty said. “Only then will South Africa live up to the human rights commitments it made when apartheid ended.”

The full Harvard Report can be downloaded by clicking on this link >>> cost-of-gold-mining-south-africa-acid-mine-drainage-amd-environmental-disaster-harvard-report

For more information or a copy of the full report, please contact:

In Cambridge MA, Bonnie Docherty: bdocherty@law.harvard.edu, or +1-617-669-1636 (mobile).

Robinson Lake Radioactive Uranium Wasteland from Acid Mine Drainage AMD West Rand Gold Fields Randfontein South Africa. The Cost of Gold Mining in South Africa – The Effects of Acid Mine Drainage on the West Rand Goldfields of South Africa Viewed from Google Earth – Copyright Google Inc

The Cost of Gold Mining in South Africa – The Effects of Acid Mine Drainage on the West Rand Goldfields of South Africa Viewed from Google Earth – Copyright Google Inc