Age of Consent

South Africa: Energy transition mining disregards indigenous rights, report finds

By David Whitehouse

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Posted on April 26, 2023 07:05

© South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa walks past a mining truck during the launch of the new Sandvik Khomanani manufacturing site, at Khomanani, in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa September 9, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko — South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa walks past a mining truck during the launch of the new Sandvik Khomanani manufacturing site, at Khomanani, in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa September 9, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Everyone wants to see an energy transition, but what are the costs in terms of the rights of indigenous communities in the areas where the required minerals will be mined?

A new report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), an NGO based in London, highlights the fact that in South Africa, such rights are being swept under the carpet in the rush to secure mineral supplies.

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