This article talks about the dispute over coal mining in South Africa in the Kwa-Zulu Natal community. The Tendele Coal Mine is looking to expand by June twenty twenty two and if an agreement is not reached, they are going to shut down the mine altogether. There is two sides to this argument over expansion as there is the community of people that believe that the coal mine shutting down would not be such a bad thing, as the coal mine has been a detriment to the environment for some time now. However, people expressing this opinion have been faced by aggression from people who are intent on the mine expanding. Additionally, there is also the side that believe the economy would deplete with job opportunity and such if the mine were to shut down, which is also true. The Ndwandwa community is holding out hoping it will be shut down as there has been a rift in the relationships with neighboring countries because of the mine.
This article is important because it reveals how some resources that are abundant can also be problems to the country they are in. As coal is abundant in South Africa, it may have its benefits but it also has many people on edge for the environment and more. The expansion scares many as they are not ready for something that has already been a problem to grow even more.
This article relates to what we talk about in class through geopolitics because South Africa is in a position where they have an abundance of a certain natural resource but there are problems that come with being in a location like this. The abundance is not always a good thing as it can cause problems within the community about too much or too little.