Lawless small-scale miners destroy environment

The mining landscape is shifting rapidly from a large, organised industry to informal, lawless miners that have no obligation towards protecting the environment.

- - Lindi Botha

This has increased environmental decay as unrehabilitated land, decreasing water tables and damaged roads threaten rural communities and farmers' livelihoods.

South African law states that small-scale miners wanting to mine on less than 5ha may apply for permits to do so from the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR).

Unlike mining applications for larger tracts of land, no environmental impact assessment needs to be conducted, and miners don't need to apply for water use licences. There is therefore no obligation for small-scale miners to rehabilitate the land once mining has been completed.

Such permit applications have been increasing rapidly across South Africa.