Derelict and ownerless mine sites in South Africa: history, legislation and a review of their management

Authors: Vadapalli, VRK; Coetzee, H; Solomon, M; Gcasamba, S; Mahlase, B; Chere, N; Mathekga, J; Kekana, S; Mudau, L Download Paper Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2615_72

Cite As:
Vadapalli, VRK, Coetzee, H, Solomon, M, Gcasamba, S, Mahlase, B, Chere, N, Mathekga, J, Kekana, S & Mudau, L 2026, 'Derelict and ownerless mine sites in South Africa: history, legislation and a review of their management', in AB Fourie, G Boggs, J Heyes & M Tibbett (eds), Mine Closure 2026: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Mine Closure, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-11, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2615_72



Abstract:
South Africa has a long history of legacy mines that were operated with little environmental awareness for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. The legal owners of these legacy mines are often either deceased or no longer traceable, or, in the case of companies, have ceased to exist. As a result, the state has inherited the environmental liabilities of some of these mines, which are commonly referred to as derelict and ownerless (D&O) mine sites. The paper reviews the history and legislation surrounding D&O mines and proposes a revised management approach based on experience to date. Early mining legislation in South Africa only focused on administrative processes such as issuing mining rights and collecting royalties and taxes, with environmental provisions being general in nature. The promulgation of the Minerals Act in 1991, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) in 2002 and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) in 1998, followed by the implementation of the One Environmental System in 2014, introduced a more structured approach to sustainable mine closure in South Africa. Subsequently, the state initiated a national D&O rehabilitation program to address environmental, health and safety challenges associated with these mine sites. Moreover, a database containing records of these D&O mine sites has been created and is continuously updated. However, to maximise the impact of the rehabilitation program, a systematic review aiming to manage D&O mines was undertaken. It highlighted a need for a revised approach to (i) estimate the state’s envisaged financial liability for these D&O mines, (ii) manage latent impacts, especially in the areas of interconnection, by collaborating with other role-players in mine closure areas to meet end land use objectives; and (iii) identifying opportunities for repurposing at selected D&O mine sites to accelerate environmental and socio-economic benefits.

References: