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Filling the vacuum: Desperate people from South Africa and its neighbours rework formal mines that have been abandoned or shut down in search of gold-bearing rock. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
ARTISANAL MINING

Illegal mining: ‘The gold is there, people are hungry and mines are closed’

The informal economy around zama zama mining has replaced that of large-scale mining companies that have abandoned or closed their mines

  • Sheree Bega
10 min read