Acid Mines

The abandoned coal mines polluting South African communities

Acid Mines Fifty years ago Witbank was the heart of the mining industry that built up white wealth in the country. But now the earth burns where coal was once dug, dust and smoke is all that remains - but it continues to pollute and cause suffering.
Green sludge - 'Acid mine drainage' - bubbles up, killing everything in its path, ending up in the streams and rivers. This is not a one off case. Radioactive uranium leaks from the gold mine dumps in Fochville, poisoning the water and the children that drink it. Local farmers took test results of the contaminated water and confronted the new Canadian owners of the 'South Deep Mine'. Finally the company acknowledged that they had polluted the water. Their solution, however, is just to buy out the farmers from their land... This feature asks what responsibilities multinational companies have to a land or a people once they have made their money and run. "If we don't do something about it now, we won't be able to do much later", says an expert on mine pollution.

Produced by SABC Special Assignment
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