Residents Suffer as Mine Blasting Damages Homes in South Africa

In communities across three provinces, the walls of homes are being cracked and their floors are collapsing as houses are being damaged by unabated mine blasting, writes Masoka Dube for Scrolla. This is the situation according to communities in the Northern Cape, Mpumalanga Highveld and Limpopo.

Community leader Olefile Mabuya from Postmasburg in Northern Cape told Scrolla.Africa most of the houses in the community have been damaged by blasting conducted by Anglo American-owned Kolomela Iron Ore Mine. "Many houses within the community are being damaged by blasting. We have written many letters to the mine but they don't take responsibility. They don't even respond to the letters," said Mabuya.

These explosions have been known to have adverse effects on the environment and residents living near the industrial action. Emad Gad of the Swinburne University of Technology wrote in a research paper: "Blasting is common in the coal industry to remove rock overburden so that the exposed coal can be mechanically excavated.The ground vibrations and air blast produced by blasting are often felt by residents surrounding the mines. There has been a trend forregulatory authorities, especially those concerned with the environment, to impose low limits on blast vibration levels in response tocommunity pressure, based on human perception and response to vibration."

Addtionally, the Centre for Human Rights has said that mine blasting is a constitutional rights issue due to its impact on health and and its lack of regulation. "Section 24(a) of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being. Mine blasting poses serious risks to both. The inclusion of well-being in the Constitutional right is not symbolic - it must have real meaning and be capable of vindication. As such, the Constitutional right to well-being is an important tool for communities seeking to address blasting impacts," the organisation wrote.