Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
olifants riverlatest news & developments
Wastewater: An overflowing drain flowing in a town in Mpumalanga. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
BLUE SCORPIONS

Mpumalanga municipality slapped with record R650m penalty for years of raw sewage spills

In a landmark ruling, the Emalahleni local municipality was ordered to fund major repairs after pleading guilty to persistent sewage pollution that contaminated rivers feeding…

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
Old rustic huts are still scattered over the Karoetjies Kop 150 farm coastal area. They are used by surfers and other travellers to the West Coast. Photo by Ant Fox
DE BEERS

Mining companies eye the last unspoilt strip of the Western Cape’s west coast

SRK Mining wants to prospect for diamonds and Nekwana Trading Enterprise wants to prospect for heavy minerals, kaolin and gemstones

  • John Yeld
6 min read
Abuse: Miners move bags of cobalt at Congo Dongfang Mining’s Kasulo mine. Two-thirds of the world supply of cobalt is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where men, women and children work.
ACID MINE DRAINAGE

African countries must put their houses in order to attract mining investment

The African Mining Indaba will look at ways to boost investor confidence through a stable regulatory environment and mining policies aligned with environmental, social and…

  • Busisipho Siyobi
  • Vincent Obisie-Orlu
6 min read
Phosphate mining companies in Phalaborwa have been polluting local water supplies.
OLIFANTS RIVER

​Why we don’t have cool, clear water

The reasons include faulty sewerage plants, rogue mines and weak monitoring agencies.

  • Sipho Kings
6 min read
Dirty water: Bosveld Phosphates paid a R2.55‑million fine in 2014m after locals collected data to prove it had polluted the Ga-Selati River a tributary to the Olifants. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
MPUMALANGA

A river of shit, chemicals, metals flows through our land

The Olifants catchment is so badly managed that mines, farms and wastewater treatment plants are polluting it almost unchecked.

  • Sipho Kings
12 min read
CROCODILES

Why Kruger crocs are croaking

Mining has been blamed for the death of more than 50 crocodiles along the Olifants River in Kruger National Park in the past month.

  • Warren Foster
2 min read