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Mail & Guardian

Thungela Resources

latest news & developments
With South Africa’s low employment rate, particularly among young people, mining continues to make a valid contribution towards job creation, amid a tough economic operating climate. Photo: Supplied
ANDREW LANE

Mining companies aren’t buying what the SA govt is selling — yet

Companies are withholding investment – despite the commodity boom’s bounty – in the face of constraints to exports and exploration

  • Sarah Smit
  • Anathi Madubela
8 min read
While coal producers stand to benefit from stronger prices and export demand, researchers warn that increased coal production and exports carry significant environmental and social costs, from greenhouse gas emissions to the impacts borne by communities living near mines and coal-fired power stations. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
ANDRE DE RUYTER

Coal bulls fight for relevance at Mining Indaba

After a year of energy market volatility lit a fire under demand for coal, lobbyists of the commodity say it is set to stick around

  • Sarah Smit
5 min read
The Loskop Dam
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
Video

Loskop Dam crocodiles fitted with satellite transmitters to gauge effect of acid mine drainage spill

‘We’re seeing fewer crocodiles after the acid spill’ – conservationist

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
Thungela private security stands guard at the source of the acid mine drainage spill at the mine. Photograph: James Puttick.
ACID MINE DRAINAGE

Criminal probe into Thungela Resources for ‘catastrophic’ acid mine water spill

It will be a test case in South Africa for river pollution, rehabilitation and holding polluters accountable

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
QINGDAO, CHINA – MAY 09: Aerial view of shipping containers sitting stacked at Asia’s first fully automated container terminal of Qingdao Port on May 9, 2022 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. (Photo by Zhang Jingang/VCG via Getty Images)
CHINA

Commodity prices buoy South Africa amid China’s slow growth blow

South Africa’s fate is tied to China’s, but war-related disruptions in the global energy market keep exports going

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read
Aquatic disaster: The toxic water flowed from Khwezela Colliery near eMalahleni into the Kromdraaispruit to the Saalbookspruit, into the Wilge River
ACID MINE DRAINAGE

Acid mine spill in Mpumalanga will take years to fix

Toxic water in the Wilge River system from Thungela’s colliery is a ‘catastrophic event’

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
A 58km stretch of the lower Wilge River system is “dead” after an old coal mine in Mpumalanga decanted millions of litres of acidic water into the river system last week. (Wikipedia)
ACID MINE DRAINAGE

Coal mine acidic water spillage into Wilge River system kills ‘all life, everything’

The acid mine drainage happened at Khwezela Colliery’s south shaft, which had been sealed, but the volume of water exceeded the maximum capacity for treatment at the dosing site

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
An employee walks past stockpiled of coal for shipping at the Richard’s Bay coal terminal, in Richard’s Bay. (Dean Hutton/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

Coal on a drive to delay its demise

The just transition that is currently being executed is a balance between energy security and climate change, according to one analyst

  • Tunicia Phillips
8 min read