Small–scale mining in South Africa: Past, present and future

Mining is an important part of the South African economy and has been the driver of much of the economic development of the country. However, the small–scale mining subsector still has to realise its full potential. A small–scale mine has been defined as a mining activity employing less than 50 people and with an annual turnover of less than 7.5 million Rand and includes artisanal mines. Small–scale miners are involved in many commodities but there appears to be a bias towards gold, diamonds and quarrying for construction materials, including brickclays. Small–scale mining is regulated by the same legislation (i.e., for the environment, labour, mineral rights, exploration and mining permitting, and skills development) as large–scale mining, though compliance is low, particularly where artisanal mining in concerned. The effective participation of small–scale miners in the mining sector is hampered by their lack of skills, i.e., technical, business and management, and their limited access to mineral deposits, capital and markets. Some of these hindrances have been inherited from the imbalances of the colonial and apartheid eras and continue to act as barriers, making entrance to the industry difficult. For those who have entered the industry out of desperation, as is the case with most artisanal miners, their activities result in negative impacts evident in the inefficient, unsafe and environmentally unfriendly operations. With the advent of the new political dispensation in South Africa, a new era is dawning for the country’s small–scale mining subsector. This has resulted in a change of attitude and new government policies which have led to special programmes being put in place to promote the subsector. Intervention strategies for the support of small–scale mining (some of which are already in operation) include programmes for kickstarting mineral beneficiation and value–addition projects, development of appropriate technologies and skills and technology transfer. Proponents of small–scale mining see a well–regulated industry as being the cornerstone of future rural economic development, particularly for previously disadvantaged communities in the poverty nodes.     

Metals in horseshoe crab eggs from Delaware Bay,USA: temporal patterns from 1993 to 2012

The health of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs is important not only to maintain horseshoe crab populations, but because they are a resource for higher trophic levels, such as fish and shorebirds. We examined the concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium in the eggs of horseshoe crabs from Delaware Bay (between New Jersey and Delaware, USA) in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2012 to determine if there were significant temporal changes and if levels appear to pose a health risk to the crabs themselves, or to predators that consume them. All metal levels declined in horseshoe crab eggs between 1994 and 2012, although the declines were much less consistent for lead and chromium than that for mercury and cadmium. Levels of contaminants found in these eggs are well below those known to cause adverse effects in the crabs themselves or to organisms that consume them, such as migrating shorebirds.