Parliament probes Mintails toxic legacy
Parliamentary committee asks for explanations following Oxpeckers report on mining company’s liquidation plans. Lisa Steyn reports...
19 September, 2018
Mabola case sets new boundaries for protected areas
Judicial review of Cabinet decision to open Mabola strategic water zone raises questions about the status of mining in protected environments. Tholakele Nene reports
18 October, 2018
How #MineAlert helped Mabola
An anonymous tip-off sparked a sustained investigative journalism trail and a precedent-setting High Court judgment, writes Julia Thomas
16 November, 2018
Mabola case sets new boundaries for protected areas
Judicial review of Cabinet decision to open Mabola strategic water zone raises questions about the status of mining in protected environments. Tholakele Nene reports
18 October, 2018
How #MineAlert helped Mabola
An anonymous tip-off sparked a sustained investigative journalism trail and a precedent-setting High Court judgment, writes Julia Thomas
16 November, 2018
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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 -
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, reports Mark Olalde...
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 2015, and recently paid a site visit to the Mabola headwaters...
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 Olalde investigates...
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 -
Ministers sign secret deal to mine strategic water zone
Without any public notification, South Africa’s ministers of environment and mining signed off on a coal mining project in the critical Mabola water catchment in Mpumalanga. Mark Olalde investigates Documents......
15 February, 2017 -
The reality of social and labour plans
Social and labour plans are supposed to improve life for communities affected by mining. Unfortunately, because of the fog surrounding how they operate and are enforced, these communities are often......
06 February, 2017 -
Appeal against mine expansion in wildlife corridor
Tricia Govindasamy looks into the impacts of environmental authorisation for expanding Sedibelo mine in the North West Heritage Park Corridor The expansion of a mining project that cuts through a......
23 January, 2017 -
Mine closures: What’s happening in your back yard?
After an 18-month search, Mark Olalde accessed data on mine closure trust funds, financial provisions for rehabilitation and closure certificates...
15 December, 2016 -
Seabed prospecting undermines blue economy
Ambitious government plans to grow the oceans economy are threatened by prospecting licences that would open the marine economic zone to phosphate strip mining. Mark Olalde investigates...
11 November, 2016
TOOLS
#MineAlert allows you to track and share mining applications and licences
Use ClimaTracker to track weather changes and how these will affect you
Instant access to data on rhino deaths and poaching incidents since 2010
Keep tabs on data from rhino poaching court cases across South Africa
#GreenAlert helps you track & share environmental impact assessments
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Over the years seven Oxpeckers investigative environmental journalists have covered the Mabola saga and its implications for the fledgling regulatory framework evolving around protected environments
bit.ly/2B9oWiw #MineAlert
oxpeckers.org
An anonymous tip-off sparked a sustained investigative journalism trail and a precedent-setting High Court judgment, writes Julia Thomas#MineAlert: Tau Industries has applied for three gold prospecting rights in Magaliesburg – close to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. I&APs have until 20 November to comment. Have your say. See bit.ly/2DyRrZl to find out more
News just in: High Court has set aside the ministers' approvals for a coal mine inside #Mabola protected area. The story below was part of #MineAlert's 4-year series of investigations
oxpeckers.org/2017/02/ministers-sign-secret-deal/
Ministers sign secret deal to mine strategic water zone
oxpeckers.org
Without any public notification, South Africa’s ministers of environment and mining signed off on a coal mining project in the critical Mabola water catchment in Mpumalanga. Mark Olalde investigate…Climate champion: on the eve of her departure, mayor Patricia de Lille spoke out about blockages in critical funding earmarked for Cape Town's drought
bit.ly/2SAZ99w
ClimaTracker story wins international award
oxpeckers.org
Story about Patricia de Lille’s struggle to access climate funding for drought-stricken Cape Town wins United Nations contestJournos, enviros, friends and anyone interested in a learning about illegal wildlife trade. A project I'm working on with Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism, Internews and Earth Journalism Network, was recently launched and we need any and all help creating an exciting and important new dataset. Read more about the project and our call-to-action below ⤵️
Ultimately, we will create a space where others can contribute information about the growing number of illegal wildlife trade-related incidents in Europe, a region that serves as both a transit hub and consumer market.
EDIT: The tool will be launched in 2019, but watch this space for updates as we develop it further and start to public stories!
Ultimately, we will create a space where others can contribute information about the growing number of illegal wildlife trade-related incidents in Europe, a region that serves as both a transit hub and consumer market.
EDIT: The tool will be launched in 2019, but watch this space for updates as we develop it further and start to public stories!
#MineAlert is a project of Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism, and is based on #GreenAlert, which allows users to track environmental impact assessments in the same way
Supported by Code for Africa & The Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) | Developed by ScienceLink
