By Tholakele Thabane
The community members of Smashblock informal settlement in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, have been in limbo since the 1980s when the Thabazimbi Iron Ore Mine sought to expand its mining operations into their homes.
The community members said the mine, now under the ownership of ArcelorMittal South Africa, made a promise of rebuilding their homes but that promise has never been fulfilled, and their livelihood has since worsened.
Joseph Mankwe, 63, is a lifelong resident and in the past 26 years, he worked for various divisions in the mine until he retired last June.
His commitment to the mine has been commendable, just like his late father who started working as a farmer in 1971. The farm is owned by the mine.
“We were told we’d get homes, but to this day, nothing. Many of us were left to live in shacks,” Mankwe said.
He added that after the evictions, he managed to build his own house and took his parents in. However, his parents died while waiting for the mine to fulfil its promise. Mankwe’s experience paints a picture of systemic neglect — generations of labour and loyalty repaid with broken promises, evictions and minimal compensation.
Like Menkwe’s parents, Masego Setla*, 59, says her late husband worked for the mine for 30 years, died in 2021 also still waiting for the house.
“It is not easy [to live here]. We struggle with water, proper sanitation and sometimes [there is no] electricity,” Masego said.
When you approach the informal settlement, you are welcomed by a dusty and bumpy road and a strong stench of sewage. The streets are running contaminated water. There are no proper toilets in the informal settlement.
What does the MPRDA say?
Setla explained that before her husband died, he, along other former colleagues reached out to the mine about the deferred promise, but nothing has materialised. “We have lost hope. My husband’s wish was that [before he dies, he would have] received the house,” said Setla.
Section 23(1)(e) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) 28 of 2002 states that change of ownership equates to continuing with the commitments made in the previous owner’s Social Labour Plan (SLP), a requisite for obtaining a mining licence.
Over the years, ownership and management of the mine changed hands — from Iscor, which initiated the removals and offered no compensation at the time, to Kumba, then Anglo American, and now ArcelorMittal, which found the area already in disarray.
The successors of Iscor, which initially evicted and made the promise to the community, would generally be expected to honour any unfulfilled community obligations unless they’ve legally renegotiated or replaced those commitments with new commitments in their own SLP. But, they too, were after the minerals— not improve the livelihood of the people.
In response to the questions we sent to ArcelorMittal on 16 April 2025, the mine said: “The Company is in regular communication with communities and relevant stakeholders, particularly with respect to matters contained in the Social Labour Plan which is now in its second phase.”
However, Daisy Moeng, Women Affected by Mining United in Action (WAMUA) coordinator, said as community members they were not consulted when ArcelorMittal was drafting its SLP for the period of 2024-2028.
The company provided us with a copy of its SLP and it does not appear that ArcelorMittal engaged or consulted directly with the affected communities. Instead, the recorded SLP consultations show the company only engaged with officials from Thabazimbi Local Municipality, an official from Waterberg Development Initiative and an official from National Union of Mineworkers.
