This research project is on coal mining and to see if it has a negative impact on the environment and on the rural people and towns living near coal fields in Mpumalanga in South Africa. I chose to do my research project on this topic because; coal is a resource that is widely used in South Africa to generate electricity, to make fires for people to keep warm and cook, and with this is mind coal is therefore in demand thus forcing more extraction of coal which probably affects the environment. Another reason was because I wanted to get an idea as how I could reduce impacts of the environment and on people if there are negative impacts.
Since coal is known as a fossil fuel and a mineral that is in high demand, it extracted from the surface of the earth through two methods; surface mining and underground mining. Coal can be changed into different forms to supply our needs. “93% of electricity is produced from burning coal” (Melita Steele), and it can also be changed to a form where we can use it for petrol. Coal happens to be one of the cheapest and easiest resources to obtain mainly because it accumulates in many places on the surface of the earth especially in Mpumalanga.
In order to conclude this research I will
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Emalahleni means “place of coal” (Lucky Maisenya), which shows you why most coal mining occur here. This is one of the areas at which I did my research on to see how they are affected by the coal activities. One of the other areas which I looked at were “squatter camps such as MNS and Klarinet ,towns such as Carolina, Piet Retief, Ermelo, Balfour and others which are situated in the eastern side of Mpumalanga” (article 5). These areas are important because they are the areas that encounter environmental and human issues, this then assisting me to bring out the research