Franz Fuls

Glencore’s Umsimbithi mine is involuntarily relocating farm workers from the Wonderfontein area close to Belfast, so that the land can be mined. The villagers have not yet been relocated, but Glencore has already started mining.

In late June 2013, Exxaro, one of South Africa’s largest coal-mining companies with assets of R41.6-billion, commenced opencast mining at Weltevreden pan close to Delmas, in the mineral-rich province of Mpumalanga.

Or rather, re-commenced.

About 115 kilometers South-East of Witbank lies the sleepy town of Carolina. The villagers of Ebuhleni, just outside the town (previously known as MaFour), are farm workers. They have always been.