We live on top of Death
Modise Tlhako
Dominionville has a sinkhole at its entrance. Under it runs a mine shaft that has been open since 1963. Children cut across the grass next to it every morning on their way to school. No fence. No warning sign. Just open ground and a story parents tell their kids: “Don’t go near there.”
“This is how we live,” says a resident of 20 years. “We live on top of death.”
A mine that never closed properly
Dominionville was built around the Dominion Reefs mine more than 5 decades ago. When the mine stopped operating at the end of 1963, the company left. The shafts were never sealed. There was no rehabilitation.
People came looking for work. With nowhere else to go, they moved into the old compound buildings. They did not know the ground beneath their homes was dangerous.
In 2023, part of the village collapsed. Residents say illegal miners had been working in the shaft under the sinkhole. No one took responsibility for the damage.
Deaths the community remembers
Phatikile Mabongo fell into one of the open shafts. He never came out. His mother, Kedibone Mabongo, still lives in the village.
Eva Tlhako, was admitted to hospital with respiratory problems. She later passed on. Her family says the ventilator built next to her bedroom poisoned the air she breathed.
“The shafts are still open,” says a resident. “Kids play there. Animals graze there. As a parent you must watch your child every minute, or they will fall in.”
60 years of being sent from pillar to post
After 1994 the mine changed hands. First Uranium One, then Shiva Uranium owned by the Guptas, and now Rocken Mining. Residents say none of the companies ever consulted the community or sealed the shafts.
In 2022 the Office of the President intervened after Dominionville was listed among the top 10 protest areas. The intervention was led by then Minister Ayanda Dlodlo. All relevant departments came to the village.
But residents say nothing changed.
“We complain to the municipality, to the province, to DMRE,” says Ward Councillor Sterffod Bernard. “Every time they tell us: Go to the company. But the law says pre-1994 mines with no closure belong to DMRE. So where is the money to fix Dominionville?”
We are still waiting
There are complaint letters filed with the municipality, province and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, DMRE.
Residents say they are still waiting for DMRE and the province to act, as instructed by the Minister from the President’s Office.
There was the 2022 presidential intervention. No shafts were sealed.
Residents say they were told Rocken Mining will take over. There has been no meeting. No consultation.
For now, the community watches its own children and animals.
A time bomb
With the rainy season, shafts flood and the ground collapses more. Without urgent barricading and signage, residents say another child or animal will die.
Dominionville is not alone. It is one of more than 6000 communities across South Africa living on abandoned apartheid mines.
“This story is about accountability,” says a community leader. “For 60 years decisions about Dominionville were made without us. We want to be part of what happens to our land.”
DMRE and Rocken Mining were asked for comment.
