Johannesburg - The closing of the Blyvooruitzicht
gold mine in South Africa resulted in a humanitarian “catastrophe” and the
government must protect the rights of residents who were neglected, according
to an advocacy group.
The mine, about 80 kilometres west of Johannesburg,
started production in 1942 and was operated by companies including DRDGold and
Village Main Reef before going into liquidation in 2013. Lawyers for Human
Rights, based in Johannesburg, gathered data from about 300 households in the
area and found that 60 percent of them said they didn’t have enough to eat or
the ability to support their children.
Read also: Blyvooruitzicht gold mine heads for revival
“The catastrophe at Blyvooruitzicht is the result of a
toxic cocktail involving private sector abdication of responsibility, an
inadequate legislative framework and state enforcement effort,” the group said
in a report released Friday.
Maintenance of the site ceased after the liquidation,
leaving residents exposed to radioactive dust from the mine waste areas and raw
sewage in the streets due to the breakdown of infrastructure, according to the
report.
BLOOMBERG