Clean Mining
burden, not to mention the long term
residual risks to communities residing
in the vicinity of un-rehabilitated mining areas.
Enormous progress has been made
with regards to mining land rehabilitation since the early 1990s. Firstly, with
the enactment of the 1991 Minerals Act
– an Act which enforces environmental
protection and the rehabilitation of
land that has been affected by mining
or prospecting activities. Other legislation such as the 1998 National
Environmental Management Act, the
1998 National Water Act, the 1965
Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act,
and the 2002 Mineral and Petroleum
Resource Development Act (MPRDA) has
provided further controlling measures.
Now, the South African government
adopts the ‘polluter pays’ principle,
where mining companies need to pay
to remediate the damage they cause.
Concurrent mine rehabilitation is also
considered throughout the entire life of
mine – from the start of prospecting to
mine closure.
Whilst this legislation has come at
great benefit – through the protection of groundwater and ecosystems