A third of the world’s gold lies beneath Johannesburg, but over a century of mining has left behind a scarred landscape and 600 massive waste heaps. Towering up to 100 meters, they are concentrated around Soweto and contain toxic heavy metals like cyanide, mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium as well as uranium.
When the winds blows, contaminated dust spreads over neighborhoods like Snake Park and Riverlea, seeping into homes, polluting air, water, and soil, and turning daily life into a struggle.
This toxic exposure has triggered a health crisis, causing respiratory diseases, skin conditions, and severe developmental disorders like cerebral palsy in children.
For these already disadvantaged communities, mining waste deepens poverty and worsens social inequality across generations.