Mining for Development? A Socio-Ecological Study on the Witbank Coalfield¶
John K. Filitz (2012). Mining for Development? A Socio-Ecological Study on the Witbank Coalfield. Paper presented at the XVIth World Economic History Congress, 9-13 July 2012, Stellenbosch University.
| Type | conference paper |
| Scope | Wider apartheid literature |
| Method | mixed |
| Period studied | unspecified–post-mining (c. 2000s-2010s) |
| Regions | Witbank coalfield, Highveld, Mpumalanga, Rietspruit colliery |
| Themes | mining migrant labour, business and state, comparative theory, transition post apartheid |
| Citation key | filitz2012 |
Argument¶
Based on the abstract alone, the paper argues that coal, as a finite and speculative resource, generates costs beyond the financial sphere that must be accounted for at some point in the mine life-cycle. Using a Polanyian double-movement framework, it claims that the way nature (coal) is inscribed in production alongside labour and technology shapes productive relations and determines how far the State can act as a counter-movement against over-exploitation of society and nature. It illustrates this through the Rietspruit colliery village, arguing that post-mining social costs and inequality were institutionalised in the implementation of the post-mining sustainability plan. It also criticises the Department of Minerals and Energy's Sustainable Development through Mining (2009) initiative for treating mine closure in a de-politicised, technocratic way.
Evidence and method¶
Not visible: only the abstract and contact details are provided. The abstract implies a case study of Rietspruit colliery in the Witbank coalfield and analysis of the Department of Minerals and Energy's 2009 Sustainable Development through Mining (SDM) policy.
Place in the debates¶
- Mining-led and sustainable development: whether mineral extraction can serve as a vehicle for sustainable development. Sceptical; it calls the notion of coal mining as the means de jour for sustainable development flawed because social costs and mine closure are disembedded from their historical and socio-ecological context.
- Polanyian double movement: the State's capacity as counter-movement against over-exploitation. Argues that the capital-society-nature interaction determines how far the State can perform that counter-movement role.
Findings¶
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Coal has been central to South African development and still is. (p. 1)
Coal mining on the Highveld has historically served, and continues to serve as an indissoluble cog in South Africa’s development.
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Coal's finite, speculative nature produces costs beyond the financial sphere that must eventually be accounted for. (p. 1)
the inherent speculative character of coal as a finite resource results in bearing costs beyond the financial sphere.
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The way natural resources enter production helps determine the character of social productive relations. (p. 1)
the manner in which natural factors such as coal have historically been inscribed in the production process, alongside labour and technology, to a large degree determine the character of productive relations in a particular society.
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The case study finds post-mining social costs and inequality at Rietspruit effectively institutionalised. (p. 1)
arguing post-mining social costs and inequality as evident at Rietspruit, as effectively institutionalised.
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Climate and sustainability discourses overlook the welfare of communities dependent on finite extractive activity. (p. 1)
Such discourses however, fail to fully acknowledge the socio-economic welfare of communities dependent on finite extractive economic activity.
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Mine closure is treated technocratically, which the paper criticises as a core flaw. (p. 1)
this approach views mine closure, including the social aspects of mine closure, in a de-politicised, technocratic manner of rationalising closure as cost-effectively as possible.
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Minerals and Energy, Sustainable Development through Mining (2009) (SDM) initiative | commission or official report | 2009 | Treated as the object of critique: state sustainable-development policy that the paper argues disembeds mine-closure social costs from historical context. |
Inference¶
Quantification: None.
Single case study of Rietspruit colliery (Witbank coalfield), interpreted through a Polanyian double-movement and socio-ecological framework. Only the abstract is available in the supplied text, so the empirical basis of the case study is not visible.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Coal's finite, speculative character imposes social and ecological costs beyond the financial sphere that must be accounted for at some stage of the mine life-cycle. (p. 1) | Theoretical argument (Polanyian framework) illustrated by the Rietspruit case; no specific source is identified in the available text. | Asserted |
| The post-mining sustainability plan at Rietspruit effectively institutionalised post-mining social costs and inequality. (p. 1) | Case study of the implementation of the post-mining sustainability plan at Rietspruit colliery; sources are not named in the abstract. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| State policy such as the SDM initiative treats mine closure in a de-politicised, technocratic and cost-minimising way, and regulation is poorly enforced. (p. 1) | Critique of the SDM policy document and an asserted characterisation of the regulatory environment; no enforcement data are cited in the available text. | Asserted |
Gaps in the evidence¶
Only the abstract is available, so the primary sources behind the Rietspruit case cannot be identified. Testing the argument would need colliery company records (for example Rietspruit and its owners' closure and sustainability plans), mine closure and social and labour plan filings, and Department of Minerals and Energy enforcement records. It would also need household surveys or interviews with former mine-village residents on post-closure welfare, and comparison with other closed Witbank collieries. Most of these exist in company and state archives or could be collected through fieldwork.
Replicability: Data poorly documented.