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Mhlanga walks up the stairs out of the abandoned Goldview coal mine lugging a large bag of coal. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

Mpumalanga, South Africa's coal mining hub, was dubbed the world's largest air pollution hotspot by Greenpeace in 2018. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

After skidding down 82 steps at Goldview coalmine and making his way through a narrow tunnel, Mhlanga reached a black vein in the rock some two metres wide where he would remain overnight, breaking off and collecting coal, rarely allowing himself to rest. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

Mhlanga takes off his boots at his home in Ermelo, a town 210km (130 miles) east of Johannesburg, after spending the night at the Goldview coalmine. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

Mhlanga and other men scrape a living by chipping away at abandoned mine shafts previously exploited by mining conglomerates. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

Thick grey smoke hovered over the sprawling townships surrounding Ermelo, seeping out of corrugated iron roofs and filling the late afternoon air with the nauseating smell of combustion. Almost every household heats and cooks with coal. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

More than 80 percent of South Africa's power is generated by coal, which is also exported to China and Europe. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]

Environmental groups and NAAM claim mining causes significant water and air pollution, although official figures are hard to come by. [Emmanuel Croset/AFP]