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A Team of Experts has been instructed by a Task Team, chaired by the Directors General of Mineral Resources and Water Affairs to advise the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on acid mine drainage (AMD), comprising the Ministers of Mineral Resources, Water Affairs and Science and Technology and the Minister in the Presidency: National Planning Commission. The Team of Experts is reporting on its assessment and reappraisal of the situation with respect to acid mine drainage, focusing on the Witwatersrand Gold Fields. Examination of international and local literature on all aspects of AMD (e.g. its formation, control, management, treatment and impacts) indicates that the subject has been extensively researched and studied globally and in South Africa. This has resulted in a sound but generic understanding of the process and the various components of the AMD problem in South Africa. This examination has also, however, highlighted the complexity of the host and receiving environments that militates against a single or 'one size fits all' solution to address the problems associated with AMD. However, with regard to the Witwatersrand Gold Fields, sufficient information does exist to be able to make informed decisions regarding the origins of the mine water, potential impacts, management strategies, treatment technologies, etc. AMD has been reported from a number of areas within South Africa, including the Witwatersrand Gold Fields, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal Coal Fields and the O'Kiep Copper District. The Western, Central and Eastern Basins are identified as priority areas requiring immediate action because of the lack of adequate measures to manage and control the problems related to AMD, the urgency of implementing intervention measures before problems become more critical and their proximity to densely populated areas. The situation in other mining regions of the country requires additional information, monitoring and assessments of risk, particularly in vulnerable areas such as the Mpumalanga Coal Fields, where the impact of mining on the freshwater sources in the upper reaches of the Vaal and Olifants River Systems is of serious concern.