MARK OLALDE
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South  Africa

A  journey  into  south  Africa's  mines,  the  lives  of  its  miners  and
the  energy-production  industries  fueling  Africa's  rapid  growth

By: Mark Olalde


Update  time

9/3/2015

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Picture
Bubbles form atop acid mine water mixed with lime in a Gauteng treatment center.
Sharp, sharp!

I have been working a full month here in South Africa, so maybe it's time to update my illustrious readers. To get us up to speed, what am I doing here? Supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism -- and my savings -- I am spending several months in Johannesburg to report on the country's 6,000 abandoned mines and the people who work them. Or at least that was the thought.


I have since narrowed (I use that term exceedingly loosely) my work: What really happens at that juncture between a legal mining operation closing and that same mine becoming an abandoned pit in the ground? To accomplish this, I focused much of my first month on research surrounding the legislation, documentation, data, media coverage and history of mine closure. I did, however, visit abandoned mines, tailings dumps and zama zama operations to see what this historical problem looks like in the here and now. Expect much more of this and gathering of expert analysis in Month 2. Additionally, I am experimenting with the "one-man-band" idea touted by J-schools nestled away from the field, but my multimedia work has led to a new partnership between my writing and photography. 

There has been the bad: Dealing with mounting stress in a foreign country, juggling dozens of contacts with dozens of unique and subtle agendas, getting mugged, pitching and receiving offers that are much worse than a "no." Oh, the publications that would love my work but just wouldn't love to really pay for it....

....In preparing for this trip, I sought the advice of numerous professional freelancers. How do you do it? I asked The overwhelming frontrunner among answers: Marry someone with health insurance. The second response: Don't calculate your hourly. (I started to do just that until I realized the legitimacy of that advice. Really puts the whole minimum wage should be a living wage debate in a new light...) But I digress.


And there has also been the good: The first sale of an investigative series (to a large Johannesburg paper), the second sale following close behind (to an awesome environmental publication), the immense generosity of some academics with little to gain by their assistance and the  ever-present support from certain journalists even as we are ostensible competitors.

Potentially most interesting is the surprisingly unorthodox -- yet surprisingly useful -- partnership I have built with a research group in the University of the Witwatersrand...but more on that in another post.

As for now, I continue to juggle several investigations in several countries -- side note: I added a story in Malawi to my trip, but again, more on that later --, a potential museum exhibit, pitching (always pitching) and daily reporting. Thanks for sticking with my project this past month and much more to come soon.

Cheers,
Mark
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Welcome  to  the  Story

7/30/2015

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PictureElectricity infrastructure near Kruger National Park
Sharp, sharp!

Welcome to my newest adventure and thanks for your interest.  Let's jump right in....


An estimated 6,000 abandoned and ownerless mines pierce South African soil, most situated near Johannesburg and its metropolitan area's roughly 10 million residents.  By law, the companies that work or worked these mines are required to set aside enough money in “mine closure trust funds” to mitigate (clean up during) and remediate (clean up after) once they finish active mining.  If they walk away from the mine, the government can take this money and reduce any legacy impacts on the health of the environment and local populations.  Somewhere along the line, this supposedly fail-safe system failed.

Lacking proper mitigation and regulation, these mines spew uranium and numerous other heavy metals into the air that residents of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto breathe. In recent years, the Witwatersrand Basin surrounding much of this area flooded, and acid mine drainage now carries these toxins nearer to the major cities every year. Illegal mining communities spring up around abandoned shafts, and rival gangs of miners called Zama Zamas handpick gold ore to sell on a thriving black market.

The South African Department of Mineral Resources is given final permitting control over mines, ultimate say in when to open mine closure trust funds…and the mandate to grow the mining industry. The true effects of this conflict of interest are shrouded behind relatively weak access to information laws.



This is where I come in. Supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism and partnered with numerous South African journalists and researchers, I will be spending several months reporting in and around these mines. The goal is a multi-story investigation including print features, photo essays and a documentary.

This page will be the home for updates on my project as well as links to other relevant news, a “photo of the week” segment and behind-the-scenes video. There is an RSS feed to which you can subscribe, located on the right side of the page. Alternatively, I will be posting periodic updates on Twitter and Periscope (@MarkOlalde for both). Feel free to share and comment or send me questions and ideas. Thanks for sticking with me so far, and I hope you will join me in telling this vitally important story!

Cheers,
Mark

Picture
Kruger National Park at sunset
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    Mark Olalde

    I was a freelance journalist, previously based in South Africa, where I reported on the related industries of mining and energy production.

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