Restoring biodiversity is an important component of mine site rehabilitation. It needs to be evaluated regularly to assess success or failure of restoration methods and compliance with mine closure completion criteria. Yet vegetation dynamics in the driest part of the Succulent Karoo Biome are poorly understood. This study contributes to the question whether succession theory applies in this ecosystem by investigating 40 sites in a completely altered mining landscape and accompanying reference sites in the southern Namib within a 17-year time interval. Plant cover and species composition of the same site were compared between a field survey in 2005 and 2022. Multivariate analyses indicated that the importance of investigated environmental variables shifted between the survey periods, affecting the secondary vegetation on altered landforms as well as the undisturbed reference sites. This complicated the interpretation of perceived changes between the 2005 and 2022 surveys, making it difficult to detect successional trends. A drying of the general area is indicated which reduced species richness and cover overall and may have precipitated a change in habitat from stabilised to shifting dunes with concomitant changes to more sand-tolerant species in the southern part of the study area. These changes in both natural and secondary vegetation pose challenges when deciding on appropriate measures for restoration monitoring and setting completion criteria for mine closure.