Description
Book SynopsisThis book investigates mine closure and local responses in South Africa, linking dependencies and social disruption.
Mine closure presents a major challenge to the mining industry and government policymakers globally, but particularly in the Global South. South Africa is experiencing notable numbers of mine closures, and this book explores the notion of social disruption, a concept often applied to describe the effects of mine growth on communities but often neglecting the impact of mine closures. The book begins with three theoretical chapters that discuss theory, closure cost frameworks and policy development in South Africa. It uses evolutionary governance theory to show how mining creates dependencies and how mining growth often blinds communities and governments to the likelihood of closure. Too easily, mining goes ahead with no concern for the possibility, or indeed inevitability, of eventual closure and how mining communities will cope. These impacts are showcas
Table of Contents
1 Understanding mine closure: global and national trends 2 A theoretical framework for understanding the social aspects of mine closure 3 Mine closure policies and strategies in South Africa: a critical review 4 A scoping review of the literature on mine closure 5 Miners’ lives after retrenchment 6 West Rand: decline in South Africa’s economic heartland 7 Matjhabeng: decline in the urban periphery 8 Kleinzee: looking for a new dawn amidst the diamond dust 9 Koffiefontein mine downscaling: socioeconomic and infrastructural consequences 10 Alexkor and the Richtersveld community: unlikely partners to mine diamonds together 11 Tshikondeni: mine closure in a deeply rural area 12 Emalahleni’s just transition: from closure to collaboration? 13 Rustenburg: the struggle to go beyond mining 14 Rustenburg: coping despite mine decline 15 A framework for understanding the social aspects of mine closure in South Africa
