Mintails collapse: case study in how not to close mines
Liquidation leaves a R330-million environmental mess for Gauteng residents, government and other mining companies to clean up. Mark Olalde investigates...
08 August, 2018
#MineAlert investigations
Mud-slinging over Mabola mine turns nasty
Threats against critics of mining in protected water resource are part of a bigger trend of corporations trying to bully their critics into silence, reports John Yeld...
24 July, 2018
Cleaning up the mining mess
With about 6,000 abandoned mines across South Africa, regulators are searching for answers to irresponsible mine closure. Mark Olalde reports...
11 July, 2018
Is Mabola open for mining?
Indian company Atha-Africa Ventures is going ahead with an application to change land use at the Mabola protected area to open it to mining. Julia Thomas investigates...
18 May, 2018
Mine closure investigations win top award
Pioneering data journalism project on financial provisions for mine closures and rehabilitation is rewarded with top environmental media award...
25 October, 2017
No mining at Mabola for ‘the foreseeable future’
Mining at the Mabola protected water zone is on hold – for now. The status of the mining right is unclear after court action by civil society groups this week,...
30 June, 2017
Watership down: the reality of mining Mabola
Mabola is a strategic water source that feeds four of South Africa's major rivers, but the government has approved a licence to mine coal there. Oxpeckers broke the story in...
16 June, 2017
South Africa’s future without coal
The future of electricity generation is no longer guaranteed to the coal industry. Which forms of power will keep the lights on? Mark Olalde investigates...
25 May, 2017
R60-billion held for mines that are never closed
Never-before-seen data shows a fortune has been set aside for mine rehabilitation in South Africa. But large mines are not being properly closed, and the money cannot be touched. Mark...
17 May, 2017
Coal mines leave a legacy of ruin
Oxpeckers publishes never-before-seen data exposing the lack of mine closures, despite R45-billion being held in financial provisions for rehabilitation in 2015. Investigation by Mark Olalde...
07 April, 2017