Old Coal Means Jobs

OPPORTUNITY: ABANDONED MINES CAN CREATE ECONOMIC WORK

- Masoka Dube

A recent analysis at the University of Cape Town (UCT) highlights the potential for abandoned coal mines to serve as platforms for sustainable job creation and economic regeneration.

The study conducted by Nicola Wills, senior economist and PhD candidate in economics at UCT, revealed that South Africa has almost 6,000 abandoned mines—including more than 300 coal sites—which pose risks such as acid mine drainage, water pollution, land degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Wills said the deficient rehabilitation and restoration of abandoned and closed mines "presents risks, but also opportunities to create jobs".

Wills said the sites have potential to create sustainable jobs, economic diversity and community resilience in the context of the just energy transition (JET).

She said there were proven innovations in rehabilitation showing that the land where the mining activities took place could be rehabilitated and used for agricultural purposes.