Tunatazama - Community Monitors

Tailing dams

Mosamedi Molin

Mosamedi Molin
Limpopo province
Fetakgomo municipality
Mogabane village
23rd June 2024
Tailing dams
Some villages are facing a serious problem, because of the tailing dams that
are based at Bokoni Platinum mine. Their villages are Mogabane, Maruping, Sefateng, Ga
Selepe and also Ga Manotoane. They are the ones that suffer the most because of the dust that
is caused by the tailing dams from the Bokoni Platinum mine. It is a pity because those tailing
dams do not affect us only by polluting the air, they also cause different diseases among us
especially those who are mostly affected by the wind.
Whenever it is windy, it is hard for us who are near the tailing dams. The dust is too much,
especially for those who have TB or Asthma, it becomes very hard for them because they
have to travel to clinics or hospitals. They use their own money because of the conditions
they are in. It’s been years now since the tailing dams have been there. Even though Bokoni
Platinum mines do not care about how people feel about those tailing dams or how they
affect other people who are affected by the dust caused by them.
Bokoni Platinum Mine decided to call a meeting 4 months ago, it was not a community
meeting but only those who own some pieces of land near a river called Rapholo. They did
attend the meeting where they were told by the mine that they wanted to buy those pieces of
land from the owners of those farms. The mine wants to do another tailing dam there,
what hurt the most is that the mine didn’t tell our grannies on how they will be affected by
the dust and the chemicals from the tailing dams.
They agreed to that offer, only to find out that they would be paid only R20 000 for each family.
Most of the people who own those pieces of land are older people, they know about the
tailing dams. They even know that the money that they offer them is very small
because it’s a once-off thing. It would have been better if the mine offered that amount of
money every month, and also took at least one child in every family to work at the mine. This
mine should not take only those who have pieces of land, but even those who are affected
by the tailing dams must also be taken to work at Bokoni Mine. We are all affected and the
land also belongs to us we all have to benefit from it.

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