Mining and Mining Towns: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

This framework chapter addresses the consequences of shifting social responsibilities, new inequalities and the sustainability concerns created by this neoliberal phase and asks what will happen in the likely case of mining decline and closure in Emalahleni. The chapter foremostly focuses on describing the local realities in a growing coal and energy town of South Africa, Emalahleni. Considering the current reality, the chapter asks whether a just transition from coal-generated energy is possible and what the local implications will be of this global restructuring of the energy sector. A thorough investigation of a big topic like this, with all the ramifications that a just transition involves, could not be contained within one book if the authors attempted to cover several mining towns and cities. Emalahleni was selected because it is a microcosm of the global struggle for a just transition for all, in the face of the demand to switch from coal-fired energy. Books that use a case study of a single town or city to illuminate broad issues are not uncommon. Coal mining in South Africa, mining towns and neoliberalism in the mining industry are addressed. The methods and eight main research questions which the book answers were unpacked.