Site visits of the West Rand goldfields were facilitated and conducted on 2 August 2023 by the FSE with the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Dr Marcos Orellana and his team, and members of mining affected communities of the West Rand goldfields as well as representatives of Benchmarks Foundation, and two of the members of the Board of the FSE, namely Prof Djiby Thiam and Dr Mbali Mpanza.
The objective of Dr Orellana’s visits is to examine the human rights situation related to the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and waste in South Africa. He is particularly interested in identifying good practices in this regard.
The attached photographs show the site visit of Goldfields South Deep Mine’s Doornpoort Tailings Storage Facility. The site visits also included site visits to Pan African Resources’ operations and Sibanye-Stillwater’s operations.
The FSE expresses its sincere gratitude to Pan African Resources, Sibanye-Stillwater, Goldfields and the Department of Water and Sanitation for their assistance and support of the site visits as well as to the UN Special Rapporteur and his team.
