Derelict and Ownerless Mines Rehabilitation Fund
South Africa has approximately 6,000 derelict and ownerless mines (DOMs) from the gold and coal eras, posing acid mine drainage, sinkhole, and water pollution risks. The DMRE's DOM Unit faces a rehabilitation backlog requiring an estimated R50 billion. A dedicated fund—capitalised through mining royalty levies, the Mines and Minerals Development Bill, and potential green bond issuance—would address this fiscal liability systematically. Rand Water's AMD pumping operation costs R2 billion annually, a preventable outlay if upstream rehabilitation proceeds. Parliamentary BRRRs flagged the Western Basin AMD threat to Johannesburg's water security repeatedly from 2021 to 2024. International models (US Superfund, Canada's Abandoned Mines programme) inform the fund design.