The 45-page report, The Forever Mines: Perpetual Rights Risks from Unrehabilitated Coal Mines in Mpumalanga, South Africa documents the threats to communities from coal mines that have not been properly cleaned up, the failure of the national government to make progress on addressing the impacts of abandoned coal mines, and the inaction of industry to address the ongoing problems.
Of roughly 6,000 abandoned coal mines in South Africa, at least 2,322 are classified as “high risk” to the public. But only 27 of these have been cleaned since 2009.