Mining in South Africa: Whose benefit and whose burden?

Abstract

Jobs, profits, taxes and economic growth – these are the good things we have historically associated with mining in South Africa. It is only more recently that we are getting to hear about the destructive effects of mining on our environment and on the communities who live on the lands that have mineral wealth. In 2018, ActionAid conducted a survey of eight  mining-affected communities in South Africa to find out who are the real beneficiaries of mining and who bears its burdens. This article is a snapshot of the findings of that survey.