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Facing our legacies

  • Thandeka Mhlakulwana

    Unclaimed benefits

    "I raised my five siblings without any financial support for five years. When Patrick found me and said we qualified to receive my father's pension pay out, I cried for two days. I had given up hope."

  • Lukas Tsumu

    Silicosis

    "Sister Ntabiseng at the One Stop Centre made all the difference for me in getting my compensation."

  • Austin Mapela

    Indebtedness

    "My debt had impacted my relationship with my son, he never used to want to sit with me at dinner. He thought I was a failure. Now that I have my finance under control we spend time together like we used to."

  • Dr Barry Kistnasamy

    Compensation Commissioner Department of health

    "People don't go to work to get injured. They go work to provide, to take care of the people they love."

  • Patrick Kgobokoe

    Mine Workers Provident Fund

    "There needs to be a greater sense of urgency so that we help more people. The people we are helping are desperate and one day is the difference between having a roof over your head and having your home repossessed."

  • Mike Teke

    Minerals Council South Africa

    "There is good mining. We do have done a lot for the people we impact but it is not enough. We need to do more, we need to win the battle for hearts and minds"





An industry's vision

Address by Mike Teke, President of Chamber of Mines of South Africa, at the 127th annual general meeting of members on 24 May 2017.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The documentary you have just viewed raises, for me, some profound questions about our industry. The years I have spent as a Chamber of Mines office bearer, and particularly the last three years as president, have caused me to think more and more and more beyond the mine gate.

As I have told you before, and am always ready to tell anyone, I love mining. As you may have noticed, I plan to do even more mining in the future. I'm not sure my appetite for mining will ever be sated, just because it means so much to me.

Mining is the foundation of almost every aspect of life: If it's not grown, it's mined.

I know there are those who are so angry with, or disillusioned by, the mining industry that they would simply like it to cease. That of course cannot and will not happen as mining is necessary for the fundamentals of modern life.

The stories that were told in the documentary represent small cameos of three people, three families, whose lives have been touched by mining. In some cases the mining industry has been a direct cause of illness and hardship. In others it has been complicit in allowing a situation to continue unchecked. Or in others, its absence has simply been as a lack of knowledge, engagement or even care.

But, does that mean that there is no good in mining? I would say no – absolutely not. We see its good in so many big and small ways every day.

But, because we see the good, does not mean that we must not see the bad...

Read the full address by downloading the PDF document below.

Download PDF


Special thanks

Austin Mapela

Lukas Tsumu

Thandeka Mhlakwana

  • Abre van Vuuren
    Weitz Botes
    Harmony Gold
    Harmony gold [logo]

  • Anglo American
    Engineering Skills Training Center
    Anglo American [logo]

  • Doctor Barry Kistnasamy
    Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD) and Occupational Health
    Occupational lung disease [logo]

  • Mike Teke
    Minerals Council South Africa
    Minerals Council South Africa [logo]

  • Patrick Kgobokoe
    Sanele Nyoka
    Mine Workers Provident Fund
    Mine Workers Provident Fund [logo]

  • Sister Ntabiseng
    Sister Thembi Karigeni
    Department of Health
    Department of Health [logo]

    The production team

  • Samantha Nell
    Director

  • Vanessa La Trobe
    Producer

  • Lili du Toit
    Producer

  • Ross Maxwell
    Camera

  • Lusanda Mgoduka
    Production manager

  • Aaron Lekaba
    Sound

  • Lesedi Mbipha
    Translator