Out of poverty people have turned to illegal mining, destroying not only the forests but also farmlands and waterways
The single narrative of these miners as criminals in mainstream and social media ‘makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult’
Association says the government does not ‘have the will to act’ and the solution is regulation to allow artisanal miners to work legally
With just 62 wardens to cover some 14,000 hectares, it’s an arduous game of cat and mouse
Army clampdown has led to assaults and the property of legal miners being confiscated
SAPS says it has heightened visible policing over the Heritage Day weekend
Road and water infrastructure, largely in the central, south and west of Johannesburg, is being damaged
The displacement of illegal artisanal mining gangs by the police causes the miners to flee to other areas, resulting in violent turf wars that spill over into neighbouring areas
The effect of illegal mining includes sabotaged pipelines that contaminate the environment, illegal water usage, sinkholes, underground fires and explosions
They scour mine dumps on the West Rand for gold
The informal economy around zama zama mining has replaced that of large-scale mining companies that have abandoned or closed their mines
The dark and dangerous world fuels international criminal syndicates that control the illicit gold economy and as organised crime grips the country, it infiltrates our political landscape with dire consequences
Nitrate oxide from gas cylinders is believed to be the cause of the explosion
Ramaphosa calls on the private sector and labour to work with Transnet and the government to fix escalating problems
Castigating, rather than encouraging, business leaders when they advocate for harsh interventions sets us all back
The police say that allegations of complicity by some officers in the service are common and called for people to come forward with evidence
The report by the Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime found that current enforcement and policy responses, which criminalise artisanal miners, “are misguided, counterproductive and ignore the poverty and socioeconomic drivers behind the phenomenon”
Police and minerals department tell briefing a specialised team will be appointed in each province to fight illegal mining
One person was killed, while others were stripped naked and beaten by groups, who also barricaded roads and searched abandoned mines
It is the result of the state’s failure to formalise artisanal mining as a livelihood strategy and the police’s inability or unwillingness to control
Illegal miners, who have been fighting to get mining permits, risk arrest and even death in confrontations between the police and security firms
“I’m willing to take a bullet” says Northern Cape natives who claim the land, and its diamonds, belong to them.
It is estimated that gold worth $1.5 billion is smuggled annually out of Zimbabwe but this is only the tip of what has led to chronic poverty
But anger over human rights abuses in the ruby-rich province fuels resentment and insurgency
‘Thrown away like rubbish’ — Residents of what was once a rich mining town have survived the seven years since the mine closed
The debt-laden power utility is asking for a 15% annual tariff hike for three years
After years of illegally extracting diamond fragments, the Kimberley Artisanal Mineworkers will finally be recognised as a legal mining cooperative
Subsistence miners are in no more danger than legal mineworkers – and are no national threat
The dealings of the self-proclaimed "world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones" look decidedly less rosy on the ground.
With the emergence of armed gangs operating in illegal mining, rival miners kidnap and force each other to work in slave-like conditions underground.
With a dire socioeconomic situation and a history of xenophobia, turf wars between local and foreign zama zamas may lead to more violence.
A spate of murders, assaults, rapes and robberies at Blyvoor and in the surrounding communities has gone unprosecuted and unpunished.