30-YEARS OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY CHANGE IN THE PROVINCES OF LIMPOPO AND MPUMALANGA: THE IMPACT OF PT AND CR MINING IN THE EASTERN BUSHVELD COMPLEX

A National Science Foundation International Research Experience for Students visited Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces in South Africa. The program studied strategic-mineral resource development in the eastern Bushveld Complex, providing undergraduate students an opportunity to view the rapid and transformational impact that regional geology has on local communities.

The Bushveld complex has been exploited for economic resources since the 1920’s, but the eastern limb remained relatively undeveloped until the mid-1990’s. In the last ~30 years the mining sector has expanded to directly employ ~250,000 people in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, with several hundred-thousand more downstream jobs created. The economic value to South Africa attributed to platinum-group metals in the early 2020’s was $29.4B; the export value of Cr production was >$1.8B with an increasing to proportion of this wealth generated in the eastern Bushveld Complex. The value of the mining sector to the communities of the eastern Bushveld is reflected in several metrics: average salaries are SAR 31,200 versus the national average of SAR 27,100; literacy rates, boosted by mining-company investment in education are ~95%; there is population growth of ~1.5% in these rural areas caused by the influx of workers; and, debt-free home and land ownership rates are high (>60%).

However, like many rural communities, there is net outflow of young people, using family earnings from the mining sector to pursue education and employment in urban communities. Lack of administrative structure in tribal communities hinders the long-term support of government employees, particularly teachers and health care workers. And, there is historical precedence for community and environmental degradation when national and international mining conglomerates withdraw and illegal and unregulated mining operations are established. The mines in Limpopo and Mpumalanga are currently well-regulated and have proposed life-spans of >100 years. Nevertheless, the negative impacts of mining and downstream ore-processing on infrastructure (e.g. roads), air- and water-quality, sustainable agricultural practices, and, landscapes are very visible.