Re-opening of old gold mines for small scale mining in South Africa - the process of creating a small scale mine in a historically mined out South Afri-can Gold Field

Abstract

Abstract: The opportunity to re-open old abandoned gold mines in South Africa, many of which are forgotten and vandalized, presents the investor, government and community a viable way to estalish a legal small scale mining industry. Under the right circumstances many of these abandoned mines offer a potential return on investment. The value add is not only for the investor and state, but also benefits the surrounding communities that were established around these mines years ago and could uplift the community’s current socio economic status. Many of these gold mines have substantial mineral resources that could support small scale mining for the next 10 years and play a material role in the inland revenue of South Africa and the rejuvenation of the local economies. The issue of abandoned gold mines is important to the South African nation because it represents many former mining sites that continue to pose a real threat to human health and safety, environmental damage and regional poverty and in many cases, abandoned mines are considered a negative legacy to the mining industry. The presence of old abandoned gold mines negatively influence the public perception of the mining industry. Generally, abandoned mines are sites where exploration, mining or mine production ceased often without rehabilitation having been implemented or incomplete. The re-opening of abandoned mines offers an opportunity to provide employment for now defunct historical mining communities. If properly done, small scale mining can offer employment to persons currently conducting illegal mining – an extremely dangerous activity that most people undertake due to a lack of other safer and legal opportunities. This paper documents the methodology that is required to gain legal access to an abandoned mine (shaft) for the purposes of exploration, technical economic evaluation and fulfilling the necessary legal requirements to eventually bring the abandoned mine to production