This talk outlines a vision for the establishment of the African Post-Mining and Environmental Research Centre (APMERC), a proposed research hub aimed at tackling the environmental challenges left by Africa's extractive industry. This vision is deeply personal and is a synthesis of my lived experiences, academic research, and teaching initiatives.

My perspective on the extractive industry was initially shaped by my upbringing in Soweto, where the iconic gold mine dumps were a dominant feature of the landscape. For much of my youth, I simply accepted these massive, artificial structures as natural hills, a perception that underscores the deep-seated integration of mining's legacy into the South African environment and psyche.

My formal academic work has also provided the scientific foundation for this vision. My doctoral studies focused on the potential of Enhanced Weathering and Mineralisation (EWM) of diamond mine waste for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). My thesis speaks to the need to re-imagine and leverage humanity's past knowledge(s) to get closer to building circular economies, a sentiment shared by initiatives such as Stanford's Mineral-X. My research on the Cullinan Mine has established it as one of the most thoroughly studied sites for CDR in South Africa, providing a robust, data-driven methodology for utilising mine waste as a valuable resource for environmental remediation.

As a lecturer, my experience has further broadened this perspective. In developing and teaching the advanced postgraduate module on Geoethics, the Law, People, and Power (GLPP), I've engaged with students and visiting guest lecturers from other disciplines (i.e., Law and Philosophy) on the complex interplay between science, ethics, and society. These discussions have cemented my belief that technological solutions to environmental problems must be coupled with a strong ethical framework and genuine community engagement.

The talk will weave these threads together to present the case for APMERC. The centre would leverage Africa's unique mining legacy to pioneer innovative, multidisciplinary solutions for post-mining environmental issues, including carbon capture, land rehabilitation, and water management. Ultimately, I will argue that by embracing a new paradigm in the Earth Sciences, we can transform the liabilities of our mining past into a foundation for a materially sustainable and prosperous future.

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Zakhele Nkosi currently serves as a member of the academic staff in the Geology Department at the University of Pretoria with a core teaching focus on Introduction to Palaeontology, Economic Geology, and Geoethics. His core research interests are on the interdisciplinary approach of applied mineralogy and its application towards using different geological materials (i.e., mine waste) for climate change mitigation, valorisation, and post-mining transition.

Zakhele completed his undergraduate and master's studies in geology at the University of Pretoria. His MSc. dissertation was on mineral carbonation research using platinum mining-derived tailings. The dissertation earned the 2019 John Handley Award from the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA), awarded to the best MSc thesis in earth sciences produced at a South African university in the year before the award. He is in the final process of submitting his PhD dissertation at the University of Johannesburg under the supervision of Profs W. Altermann and Prof. K.S. Viljoen, with a continued research focus on mineral carbonation using mine waste materials. 

* For the Zoom link, please email Xueyao Cheng  > xc272@stanford.edu