Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.
Gauteng is the most industrialized province in South Africa, and one of the most industrialized regions in Africa. The conflict between sustaining an ideal healthy living environment and land uses such as industry and mining is a serious concern in Gauteng. It is possibly more pronounced here than in any of the other provinces. Mining is a major activity in Gauteng and as a result the province has a large number of slime dams, mine dumps, and landfills in areas earmarked for low-cost housing projects. The paper identifies and describes residue deposits constraining low-cost houses. It examines the potential health and safety hazards associated with residue deposits, and briefly reviews the current environmental legislation and its flaws regarding environmental management of mining activities. Possible rehabilitation or mitigation measures are also prescribed.
