The Bench Marks Foundation has released ‘Waiting to inhale’, a study on household health and well-being in four mine-impacted communities in Johannesburg. The communities in and surrounding Soweto, studied were Riverlea, Diepkloof, Meadowlands and Doornkop, all of which are situated close to intensely mined areas. Soweto lies in a basin to the South and South-West and directly below the mines of the Central Rand, from Langlaagte and Crown Mines in the East through to Durban RoodepoortDeep (DRD) and Doornkop in the West. The research found that many residents of Riverlea, for example, are living on oxygen machines. The residents believe that dust from the nearby Mooifontein mine dump is contributing to the poor air quality that they experience, especially on windy days. The research report also shows that communities are not properly consulted before mining licences are issued and that their right to free, prior and informed consent and their right to say no to mining are serially ignored.

DRDGold issued a statement immediately after the release of the report, and said, among other things "The comment is made that there are frequent spills into the Booysens River and surface streams in Diepkloof. This statement is factually incorrect and irresponsible. As far as DRDGOLD is concerned, a single leak occurred from one of its pipeline in the vicinity of the Russell Stream in February 2016."