Mining for Closure: Policies, practises and guidelines for sustainable mining and closure of mines
chardt, 2002). 98 Here it is important to note the underlying factors for failures – none are directly
related to insufficient economic returns. Rather, it is institutional failures that dominate.
Box 6 Bricks from tailings
Case example
Bricks from tailings
Market opportunity
Tailings and waste rock in some instances make a very suitable substitute to river sand as an input to cementatious building aggregate.
Capital expenditure
Minimal
Longevity
Elands Brick operated at Elandsrand Gold Mine for five years.
Infrastructure
Established on a redundant mine tennis court.
Employment
42 people.
Market
Supplied regional low-cost housing projects and mines at competitive prices.
Additional benefit
Saved mine the cost of relocation of tailings from ad-hoc clean-up operations and pipebursts.
Fate
Failed due to personal conflict between entrepreneurial partners.
Box 7 School from mine buildings
Case example
Redundant Hostel/School Conversion
Market opportunity
Redundant Hostel – expensive to convert to residential or apartment usage. Design ideal for boarding school – secure facility and accommodation. If replicated at 4 earmarked sites closure savings could have exceeded 18 million South African Rand (ZAR).
Capital expenditure
ZAR 3 million
Longevity
Not pursued for political reasons
Infrastructure
Redundant worker hostel
Employment
(Projected) 59 mostly mineworker spouses, 72 temporary construction jobs.
Market
Teaching & Boarding Facilities for 900 students. Addressing a critical social need – affordable quality education at rates competitive to public schools.
Additional benefit
Avoidance of Closure cost in excess of ZAR 4 million. Transfer of asset at zero cost a key factor in commercial viability.
Fate
Not pursued due to union objections to entrepreneur not being a Previously Disadvantaged Indi- vidual (PDI) Company (a PDI company is a company that is black owned, or black people are the majority shareholders of that company, i.e. they own 51% or more of shares of the company)
98. This is available online on the Mining, Minerals and Sustain- able Development site hosted by the IIIED at: http://www.iied. org/mmsd/rrep/s_afr.html
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MINING FOR CLOSURE
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