Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

19 February 2026

1-minute read

The Alternative Mining Indaba which concluded in Cape Town brought together an array of people under the theme: Alternative Stories of Mining, united in solidarity with the mining communities across the continent. People from mining communities across Africa shared lived experiences of the impact of mining.

Activist Thokozile Mntambo from the Bench-Marks Foundation says that the role of the AMI is to “challenge the dominant narrative of the official indaba,” that does not focus on the extractive injustices of mining.

The challenges mining communities in Africa face include mine workers being left out of decision-making processes by big investment companies, unclear und untransparent sharing of resources, and the lack of transparency by companies.

Added to that are the environmental impacts affecting mining communities, says Thokozile, citing the example of Soweto where big companies are coming back to remine old unrehabilitated dumps with unregulated practises, causing safety and health hazards.

She advocates for government and mining companies to interact with communities to take their wellbeing into consideration before making decisions that will impact directly on them.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Thokozile Mntambo.