The world as we know it, for better and worse, would not be possible without mining. Yet the sector has an image problem of note.
The inference was clear: the Red Cross did not want to accept what it considered to be “tainted money”. A lot of the capital generated from mining over the centuries has indeed been tainted — and much of it still emits a stench — but the times are changing. “That is not where we need to be. The question is, how do we change that? In my view, there are two things. I don’t think that society understands the role that mining plays and I don’t think that there is an appreciation that, if it’s not grown, it’s mined and that none of our societal realities around us would have been possible without mining,” Viljoen said.
Mining’s past is certainly chequered, and much of its footprint is downright dreadful: the ruined lungs of silicosis sufferers, countless violent deaths underground, workers subjected to grotesque exploitation and a toxic ecological legacy that includes climate change. Sexism and racism in a work environment long defined by antiquated notions of masculinity persist.
In South Africa, this skills shortage will mirror wider trends in the pay gap, as skilled workers command a premium while wages for unskilled and semi-skilled workers stagnate or fall. “The reality is that even in a country like ours, even with its high levels of unemployment, the moment you’ve got skilled people they are not prepared to come [and] work in the mining industry because of the perception,” Viljoen said.
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