South Africa has 230 operating mines, according to the Water Research Commission (WRC).
These include coal, platinum and chrome mines, among others.
Over 6 million people live in urban and rural mining host communities who are likely to be significantly affected by mine closure.
Now the Water Research Commission (WRC) project, in partnership with the University of Cape Town, have developed tools to guide responsible and sustainable mine closure in the country.
The tools provide extensive support in mine closure planning, management and policymaking, and are useful for government, industry, civil society, academia and international agencies.
Dr Megan Cole, a project leader and principal researcher at the University of Cape Town, said despite the existence of global best practice guidelines and local legislation, mine closure remains a complex challenge in South Africa.
Only a limited number of mines have been issued closure certificates and, or, have successfully progressed into clearly defined post-closure land uses. Closure certificates are only granted if the required documents, including a closure plan and an environmental risk report, are furnished and the environment has been satisfactorily rehabilitated.
The WRC has also funded research into mining and water-related matters since the early seventies.
The latest study produced three tools for mine closure, namely a Mine Closure Risk Rating System, a Post-closure Opportunities Framework and a Mine Closure Risk and Opportunity Atlas.
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