Digging for coal
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐ.
In KwaZulu-Natal, commercial farmers are on edge. While they own the land they farm on, government owns the minerals that lie underneath, and itโs 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 whatโs left of the areaโs coal reserve. For farmers, whatโs equally concerning is the risk to vital water sources like the townโs 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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