Acid Mine Drainage in South Africa Development Actors, Policy Impacts, and Broader Implications

Abstract

In South Africa, acid mine drainage (AMD) has become a highly contested issue as a technical and scientifi c matter. Also contested are its policy implications for the mining sector, water security and socio-economic sustainability. What is more com- plicating is that a difference in its defi nition exists between two groups of role- players, namely, the South African government on the one hand and consultants/ activists/NGOs on the other hand. This book explains these differences, the situa- tion of AMD in each of the three basins of the Witwatersrand goldfi elds, in the Vaal River System, South Africa and the socio-economic implications caused by AMD