Mining, according to Professor Andrzej Kijko of the University of Pretoria’s Natural Hazard Centre, can cause natural faults to open. He claims that mining is to blame for 95% of South Africa’s earthquakes, particularly in the Klerksdorp, Welkom, and Carletonville districts. “This portion of Africa lies in the proximity of the African Rift system, which is being forced apart by a few millimetres annually,” earth science consultant Dr Chris Hartnady said. According to him, “earthquakes are triggered by a slip on a fault line and the release of stored elastic energy,” and mining operations can create earthquakes.
According to David Khoza, executive manager in applied geoscience at the Council for Geoscience (CGS) in Pretoria, mining is responsible for more than 80% of seismic occurrences documented in South Africa. Deep-level gold mining sites of Orkney, Klerksdorp, and Carletonville in the North West; gold mining areas around Welkom in the Free State; and iron ore mining areas in the Northern Cape are severely affected.
However, “natural geological earthquakes do occur as a result of tectonic activity along fault lines, such as that recently experienced in the Western Cape,” according to Khoza.
One such natural earthquake was the 2.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred over the weekend around 10 kilometers north of Durbanville in the Western Cape. The culprit in this case is believed to be a fault line that is part of a fault network in the Western Cape region.
Is South Africa prone to earthquakes?
The Milnerton Fault is an intraplate fault line that runs beneath the Cape Flats from northwest to southeast. Seismic activity connected with this intraplate fault is thought to be responsible for the City of Cape Town’s greatest earthquake in 1809.
Is South Africa prone to earthquakes?
South Africa is considered a stable region on a global scale since it is positioned distant from tectonic plate boundaries. As a result, its activity rate is lower than in seismically active areas such as California or Japan.
How frequently do earthquakes occur in South Africa?
Earthquakes in South Africa can be powerful and wreak extensive damage in a radius of several kilometers. Earthquakes are quite rare in comparison to the size of the country. Since 1950, 55 individuals have perished as a direct result of earthquakes.
