Restoring Land Productivity
Nontobeko Gule, who is working towards her MPhil in sustainable resource development, is investigating the uses that poorly rehabilitated opencast mining sites can be put to. Gule hopes research of this kind will contribute to a more sustainable mining in
Restoring Land Productivity
Many people argue that the mining industry cannot be sustainable, says master’s student Nontobeko Gule.
“I think this is probably because once you start mining a mineral resource you deplete it and cannot replenish it,” she says. But “sustainable mining” doesn’t have to be an oxymoron.
A mining industry that is sustainable would not leave behind environmental and societal scars. It would also pay heed to the economic growth the industry can stimulate, Gule posits.
Gule is currently working towards her MPhil in sustainable mineral resource development. She is one of a number of African Development Bank-funded students completing the programme.