Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Oscar Nkala

Creator

Oscar Nkala

Erupting underground coal seam fires have maimed a number of residents and caused infrastructure damage around the town. Photo courtesy Hwange Colliery Company Limited
COAL MINING DEATHS ZIMBABWE

Fires, sinkholes and toxic water: The legacy of coal-mining in Zimbabwe

Oscar Nkala travels to Hwange in north-western Zimbabwe to expose the environmental and health hazards caused by more than a century of coal mining

  • Oscar Nkala
9 min read
On the move: Taxi motorcycles in Ambohitimana, a neighbourhood in the capital city Antananarivo. Photo: Oscar Nkala
ANTANANARIVO

‘Silent predators’ in the energy transition

Companies mining commodities needed for the global energy transition are accused of keeping affected communities in Madagascar in the dark about their plans

  • Oscar Nkala
10 min read
Energy demand: Tanzania’s transition minerals include an estimated 70-million tonnes of graphite ore (above), commonly used in electrodes for batteries and fuel cells. Photo supplied
POWERTRACKER

Clean energy minerals: Tanzania’s dark side to ‘a new dawn’

Tanzania is banking on its natural resources during the global transition to clean energy, but analysts warn there are dangers ahead

  • Oscar Nkala
11 min read
Lead legacy: research shows that lead, a base metal used for making car batteries, still contaminates Zambian towns years after mines are closed down. Photo: Human Rights Watch
POWERTRACKER

Zambia tallies the costs of mining for electric batteries

Still reeling from environmental and public health problems caused by lead mining 30 years ago, the country now faces growing manganese demand for electric batteries

  • Oscar Nkala
15 min read