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·      There are 6 000 abandoned mines, including 379 coal sites ·      These sites pose serious risks: such as acid mine drainage, water pollution, land degradation, greenhouse gas emissions due to spontaneous combustion and safety concerns ·      innovative rehabilitation techniques are proving that land can be restored for sustainable agriculture

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Sizwe sama Yende

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Closure of coal mines to mitigate climate should not bring economic meltdown for communities but new opportunities especially in agriculture.

University of Cape Town’s PhD candidate in economics, Nicola Wills, said in his analysis that abandoned coal mines that were often regarded as environmental hazards could have hidden potential to promote sustainable jobs, economic diversity and community resilience in the context of the Just Energy Transition (JET)

Wills stated that mining contamination in Mpumalanga has been a major challenge for crop cultivation, but innovative rehabilitation techniques are proving that land can be restored for sustainable agriculture – an outcome once thought impossible.

She said that these techniques have proved successful on sites in Mpumalanga such as:

·      The Mafube water reuse project which produced maize yields nearly twice that of dryland crops;

·      The Wonderfontein wheat project that used treated mine water to generate higher outputs than virgin soil, meeting all safety standards;

·       A partnership between Coaltech and the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency to repurpose mining land for biofuels, industrial hemp and renewable energy.

The South African government has successfully rehabilitated about 55 abandoned mines, prioritising those that contained asbestos and emphasising safety while working to restore the land to its natural state.

Government is currently responsible for over 6 000 abandoned mines, including 379 coal sites. These sites pose serious risks: such as acid mine drainage, water pollution, land degradation, greenhouse gas emissions due to spontaneous combustion (notably when reopened by illegal miners), and safety concerns.

“The closure of coal mines must not mean the collapse of local economies. If we repurpose these sites strategically, we can transform them into platforms for jobs and development,” Wills said. 

Wills stated that legislation mandated rehabilitated land to resemble its condition before mining. However, she suggested that a more effective approach would involve making the land economically viable for local communities.

As the country moved away from coal toward cleaner energy sources, thousands of workers and their families faced economic uncertainty, she said.

In 2019, the coal sector employed up to 108 000 workers, with nearly 66 000 of them based in Mpumalanga, a province where about 46 000 households depend on coal-related income.

Half of the country’s coal-fired power plants are expected to shut down by 2040, making it crucial to find new income in regions that used to depend on coal.

“My analysis highlights sectors that support high-employment and low-carbon growth,” Wills said.

“Agriculture, environmental monitoring and other services, and industries linked to renewable energy exhibit strong employment benefits. These align with the Mpumalanga Green Economy Development Plan, which aims to transition the province’s economy toward renewable energy (including biomass), sustainable agriculture, and tourism by 2030,” she added.

According to Wills, many communities affected by mine closures lacked skills and opportunities to adapt to an energy transition.

“Workers in these mines are mostly semi-skilled, with around 40% in craft and related trades and 35% in plant and machine operations. Reskilling can assist in the transition from mining work to mine rehabilitation efforts, or even farming, but community buy-in is also critical.”

The government has allocated R181.9 million for mine rehabilitation in the 2024/25 fiscal year.

 “A just transition in South Africa’s coal-mining communities hinges on pro-active policy interventions, strategic financing mechanisms and collaboration between government, industry and local communities. The challenge is to turn mining’s destructive environmental past into an economic asset,” Wills said.