In his State of the Nation address of 26 June 2014, President Zuma called for "a radical transformation of the energy sector, to develop a sustainable energy mix that comprises coal, solar, wind, hydro, gas and nuclear energy ". Not content with building Medupi and...
coal
Transnet: coughing canary in the climate coal mine | by Patrick Bond
Facing the most serious civilizational threat ever, what is the South African government doing? The new Infrastructure Development Act pushed into law by economic development minister Ebrahim Patel will fast-track carbon-intensive mega-projects on behalf of mainly...
“Sinkholes, Starvation and Suffering”: the Legacy of Coal Mining in South Africa? | by David Van Wyk
Even as South Africa marks the two-year anniversary of the Marikana massacre – which marked a decisive turning point for the country's platinum mining sector – extensive new research indicates that the coal mining industry poses a wide range of serious challenges of...
The end of NUM’s hegemony: AMCU and new mlitancy
The Association of Mining and Construction Workers (AMCU) was born in 1998 out of a strike at Douglas Colliery, one of the oldest mines belonging to Ingwe Coal, when 3,000 workers occupied the underground works of the mine in protest against the dismissal of Joseph...
A mineworker’s wage: The only argument against the R12 500 is greed
Marikana has left the nation in shock. Everyone hopes that the judicial commission of enquiry set up by President Zuma will shed light on what led to the police killing of 34 workers on the 16 August 2012. Lest we forget, eight workers and two policemen were killed...
It’s the coal, stupid
South AfrIca's coal-fuelled development path delivers jobs that are less than decent and results in massively negative externalities – water contamination, air pollution, loss of farmland and community commons and livelihoods. With theexception of Sasol, coal is still...
In labour: Zuma’s extractives empire hatched | Eleanor Momberg
President Jacob Zuma's nonprofit rural development project is diversifying into mining, just as the country faces a conjuncture in its extractive practices. A well-placed source has told Amandla! that the extended Zuma family is using the R2 bn Masibambisane Rural...
Chancellor House | by Eleanor Momberg
Chancellor house has become symbolic of the precariously close nexus between the state and the ruling party, and the creation of fortunes not only for maintaining power but also to benefit individual members of the ruling elite. Though controversy stalks the ANC...
Social and environmental impact of mining
A Mining company can uproot an entire community for the meager sum of R600: a prospecting permit from the Department of Mineral Resources costs only R500 and a mining permit is R100. In contrast, tribal, cultural and community structures in rural areas have been...





