The Far West Rand Region

The Far West Rand region, located on the far western side of Gauteng Province, can be regarded as one of South Africa’s most densely mined gold and uranium regions.

The region currently falls under the West Rand District Municipality. Four district municipalities operate in the region, although Westonaria and Randfontein were preparing to merge by August 2016. The population is close to 850,000 across an area of approximately 4,095 km².

Approximately 22 mines, both active and decommissioned, have operated or continue to operate in the region. The West Rand District Municipality hosts some of the world’s richest archaeological and anthropological sites and is also home to one of the world’s deepest mining shafts, reaching close to 4 km into the earth.

Mining, Growth and Environmental Change

From a disciplinary perspective, the Far West Rand region has received extensive research attention from specialists across a variety of fields. Over approximately 80 years, gold mining activity contributed to significant population growth, local development and economic expansion across the municipal regions. Townships were founded as a direct result of this growth.

At the same time, gold exploration contributed to environmental disruption, particularly through the dewatering of the area for gold mine excavations. In the past, underground cementation formed part of the process used to ensure stable gold mining activity. History provides evidence of the unfortunate reality that these activities also created destabilising economic and environmental consequences.

Ecohealth and Wellbeing Research in Mining Communities

It is against this background that research on the ecohealth and wellbeing of mining communities has been undertaken in the Far West Rand District region.

The research methodology for regional history in this area departed from the Skipp model and initially covered only part of the region, namely the Merafong municipal area. Historically, this approach has been applied successfully, although some communities and townships could still be researched more broadly in terms of their development, impact and wider regional significance.

Current Research Focus: Westonaria and Bekkersdal

The current research focus is on the Westonaria municipal region, with emphasis on three combined but related aspects: the environment, health and wellbeing status of mining communities.

The Westonaria community of Bekkersdal has been selected as the research site for a project undertaken with the financial support of the National Research Foundation (NRF).

The research covers two main angles:

1. Research applying a regional history research approach.
2. Research on the theme in the research area through an integrative multidisciplinary approach.

An Integrative Multidisciplinary Research Model

An emphasis on environment, health and wellbeing in the region requires insight from experts across all three fields. It was therefore necessary to develop a research model that could support collaboration across disciplines, while also contributing positively to research outcomes for the benefit of sustainable society.

This integrative multidisciplinary model aims to complement science in regional studies more broadly. The model includes:

• Disciplinary initiatives
• Interdisciplinary cooperation
• Transdisciplinary efforts involving communities

This approach ensures that the research is inclusive and conducted in conjunction with communities.

Future Research Expansion

Once the research on Westonaria, and particularly Bekkersdal, within the broader region has been completed, the model and the broader developed research methodology for regional history will be further explored in the mining areas of Randfontein and Mogale City.

It is envisioned that the integrative multidisciplinary model will eventually be utilised in other mining areas of South Africa. This will make comparative studies possible.

In previous years, occasional assistance has also been rendered in projects dealing with local risk and management in areas such as the Southern Cape and Delmas. These contributions included regional history perspectives and references to ecohealth matters.

Source : Local Government: Merafong City Local Municipality