Emmanuel Siyabonga, born in 1994, endures illegal coal mining in Mpumalanga after losing a cook job, hauling heavy sacks from gas-contaminated mineshafts and suffering chest pain. He and thousands of others known as zama zamas use pickaxes and bare hands, facing extreme hardships and considerable risk to salvage coal left by mining companies. Mpumalanga supplies most of South Africa's coal, surrounded by open pit mines and aging power stations. A century and a half of industrial mining produced wealth for a few while leaving severe pollution and environmental damage. Local communities remain marginalized, with tens of thousands living in tin shacks lacking basic amenities.
On an overcast day in March, he lay slumped in the dirt outside a derelict coal mine in the eastern province of Mpumalanga. His eyes were clenched shut, and his head throbbed in pain as he struggled to catch his breath. He'd just hauled a 110-pound sack of coal up 84 steep concrete steps to the surface from a mineshaft contaminated with toxic gas.
South Africa is among the world's top producers of coal, most of it coming from Mpumalanga, where open pit coal mines and aging power stations dot the landscape. Nearly a century and a half of intensive, industrial coal mining here has produced considerable wealth for a few, while leaving a legacy of severe pollution and environmental damage. Yet local communities remain among the most marginalized in the country, with tens of thousands living in tin shacks in sprawling townships lacking even the most basic amenities.
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