Finding the interface between mining, people, and biodiversity: A case study at Richards Bay Minerals

Abstract

Mining is often touted as a panacea for poverty and unemployment, particularly in South Africa. The location of valuable mineral resources often coincides with sensitive natural areas, putting development goals in direct opposition to the conservation of biodiversity. Furthermore, people are sometimes relocated, or their access to natural resources limited, to make way for the mine. Once mining begins, the promise of employment and infrastructure brings additional people to the areas surrounding the mine. People in these rural settlements seize the opportunity to enter a cash economy and convent their Lands, previously used for subsistence crops, into dormitories for immigrants from other regions or countries. Low-density rural areas therefore gradually become peri-urban settlements, leading to increasing pressure on natural resources. A systemic approach to land use planning is critical to cater for livelihoods through responsible land stewardship and biodiversity conservation during mining and after closure, in collaboration with mining companies, Richards Bay Minerals has been operating in the kwaMbonambi and kwaSokhulu communities for almost 40 years and has experienced these issues first-hand. Adaptive land planning and management is critical for satisfying stakehoLders and maintaining compliance with environmental management programmers and social labour planning requirements, In this paper, we share some of these challenges and how we are attempting to address them on mined land with the development of new projects.