Digging for coal𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰.
In KwaZulu-Natal, commercial farmers are on edge. While they own the land they farm on, government owns the minerals that lie underneath, and it’s giving scores of upstart coal companies prospecting licences and rights to mine. Tensions between farmers and mining groups in Newcastle are at an all-time high as the coal prospectors move in by the dozen to mine what’s left of the area’s coal reserve. For farmers, what’s equally concerning is the risk to vital water sources like the town’s main dam that provides drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people. Who are these opportunistic mining companies and why are they being allowed to mine in sensitive and protected areas?
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