The temporary closure and imminent reopening of mines across the country in the coming weeks provides an opportunity for mine bosses to assess and rethink their impact on communities, say Louise Scholtz and Khodani Mulaudzi of the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA). In a small town like Postmasburg in the Northern Cape where mining is a cornerstone of the local economy, the lockdown has already hit hard due to high levels of household vulnerability and pre-existing challenges related to food security. The Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others, has voiced its opposition to employees and contractors returning to work from outside Postmasburg claiming that this constitutes a real health risk.
