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Recapping the Second Third

2/12/2017

Eita,
Another third of the project has come and gone, with much of it dedicated to reporting longer investigations planned for the near future. Still, though, there was time for plenty of writing, a mini-documentary, a photo essay and a release of never-before-seen documents (that apparently made a splash in Parliament...). These stories have seen me off-road a VW Polo, an Audi A3 and a Toyota Corolla while out of the office and pester every province every week for documents while in the office. Here's what has come of all that so far....

The Star
www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/sas-failed-system-of-mine-closure-7117963
Is it possible for Mintails to properly close its operations near Johannesburg, and what does this say about mine closure across South Africa?

Saturday Star
http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/eastern-cape/pics-amadiba-community-fights-proposed-mine-7312021
Since Sikhosiphi "Bazooka" Radebe was murdered, likely for opposing a proposed titanium mine, what has happened in the Amadiba community's fight against that mine on the Wild Coast?

http://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/residents-down-in-the-dumps-after-coal-slump-7469365
How does the government relocate communities that are negatively impacted by nearby coal mines and coal-fired power stations?

http://www.iol.co.za/business-report/markets/commodities/pics-minerals-no-longer-rule-sa-roost-7541988
What does the Minerals-Energy Complex look like now, in photos (ignore the quality of some of them, weird editing for the paper wasn't updated for online)?

Oxpeckers Center for Investigative Environmental Journalism
http://oxpeckers.org/2016/12/mine-closures-whats-happening-in-your-back-yard/
What do previously hidden documents related to mine closure reveal, and is Central Rand Gold's operation near downtown Johannesburg illegal?

http://oxpeckers.org/2017/02/ministers-sign-secret-deal/
Now that the ministers of the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Mineral Resources have signed off on coal mining in a legally protected environment, what does this mean for conservation efforts?

Inter Press Service
http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/11/phosphate-mining-firms-set-sights-on-southern-africas-sea-floor/
Will seabed strip mining proceed in southern Africa and/or elsewhere in the world?

http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/12/bringing-south-africas-small-scale-miners-out-of-the-shadows/
What is the possibility for regulating artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), and does this differ between "illegal" and "informal" ASM?

http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/02/alternative-mining-indaba-makes-its-voice-heard/
Will the 2017 version of the Alternative Mining Indaba finally lead to the industry listening to community grievances and implementing changes?

Reporting these stories and preparing those larger investigations took me across the country: to the AMI in Cape Town, to the largest zama zama operation I've ever seen in Welkom, to rural villages in Pondoland (i.e. no-road-goes-there rural), underground in abandoned coal mines in Mpumalanga and in a helicopter over the Central/West/Far West Rands for a photo and video shoot. As always, thanks for following along, and look out for some big things coming soon.
Sharp sharp,

Mark

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Alternative Mining Indaba 2017

2/10/2017

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Tom Butler of the International Council on Mining & Metals addresses the protesting delegates.

Eita,
Every year, the movers and shakers of the world's mining industry meet in Cape Town to talk, network and discuss how best to maximize profits from extracting Africa's natural resources. Notably absent from that meeting are the communities directly impacted by the industry and the civil society organizations acting as government/business watchdogs.

Instead, they gather concurrently at the Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) across town. At least partly due to the $1,500 per person ticket for the Mining Indaba, I chose to attend the free AMI.

On the last day of the conference, the AMI delegates marched across the Cape Town city center to deliver a declaration of demands (read it here: http://altminingindaba.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-AMI-Declaration-.pdf) to the industry's event. The protest actually made it all the way to the Cape Town International Convention Centre this year and handed over the declaration to Tom Butler, CEO of the International Council on Mining & Metals, and several other industry representatives.

The atmosphere was electric. Singing, dancing, protest selfies. It felt like the AMI had received a guarantee that industry would solve the environmental, health, social and economic consequences often associated with mining instead of merely guaranteeing to talk about them. Still, with the massive gap that exists between the opposing sides of extractives in this continent, the AMI delegates took it as a win.

An Alternative Mining Indaba delegate examining the signatures of receipt on the declaration.

About 450 delegates from 43 countries -- spanning much of Africa, Central America and several other nations around the world -- descended on Cape Town for the AMI. This is a bit up from the 40 people who showed up to the first AMI eight years ago.

The issues arising from mining were startlingly similar across the continent. Mining houses or fossil fuel companies based in Canada, Australia, Europe or the U.S. come to an African nation in desperate need of development and foreign investment. Concessions are made, tax cuts are granted, promises are made and exploration/prospecting begins. One after another, these communities took the mic and described finding out about these companies after they were already permitted and operational.

Fueled in large part by widespread poverty, very few people throughout the conference said mining should be banned outright in their home countries. There was significant talk about moving more of the value chain to Africa to keep profits here, and there was also the oft-repeated statement that mining should go away and come back as a mutually beneficial exercise.

The perceived dependence on the extraction industry was interesting, though, especially in a conference where the participants (mostly African) and translators conversed with the group in English, French or Portuguese.

There is a story coming soon, so I will stop there and let you read further when it is published. As always, thanks for checking in.
Sharp sharp,

Mark

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South Africa

Recapping the Second Third

Alternative Mining Indaba 2017

Mark Olalde

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