Engineering News: Civil organisations ask High Court to set aside enviro authorisation for MMSEZEngineering News:
LOOKING BACK ON 2022
What a busy year 2022 was. So much so that we have only managed to finish our end-of-year newsletter now. Here we highlight some of our work for you… UNSUSTAINABLE COAL MINING PROJECTS & NEGATIVE EFFECTS Most of our work this past year has again been focused on coal mining projects in KwaZulu-Natal and their […]
Press release: CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS BRING LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST MUSINA-MAKHADO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE
Our organisations have approached the High Court in Polokwane to review the environmental authorisation granted in respect of the heavy industrial development site of the Special Economic Zone located in northern Limpopo. We argue that the process was fatally flawed, with the provincial government granting itself environmental authorisation while ignoring severe impacts of this coalfuelled […]
Acts of violence and intimidation silence vocal women in mining communities
A sigh of relief for Somkhele children following Tendele mine temporary closure
In South Africa, a community says no after a coal miner said go
Expert report uncovers ‘hidden mental trauma’ of opencast coal mining in rural KwaZulu-Natal | Daily Maverick
‘Those who witnessed the (grave exhumation) process said that it was horrifying. Some saw semi-decomposed bodies removed, while others reported diggers plunging pickaxes into the graves and returning with bones stuck on the picks. One resident said that he saw the skull of his loved one attached to the end of the pickaxe.’ — Dr […]
Coal mine residents suicidal, suffer long-term trauma, says report | Juta Medical Brief
A recent report has highlighted the psychological impact of coal mining on local communities, with an expert saying years of residents’ exposure to several environmental stressors have contributed to collective trauma.
Study reveals that a third of residents near open coal suffer psychologically | The Citizen
Psychological Report released highlighting the mental health harm to communities living next to open-cast coal mine
On 25 October 2022, we held a webinar which released the report entitled ‘Everything for Dust: the Collective Trauma of Opencast Coal Mining on Residents in Somkhele, KwaZulu-Natal’, with the content of the report as well as the line-up of speakers, attracting participants from South Africa and around the world. When we began working with […]