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zama zamaslatest news & developments
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s son, was arrested for attempted murder on Thursday after a shooting at his Hyde Park residence

Organised Crime Index 2025: South Africa a continental hotspot for criminal networks

Human trafficking, cybercrime, drug routes and wildlife poaching are surging as South Africa becomes a regional crime hub

There are thought to be at least 50 000 informal miners working underground in South Africa. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Zama zamas on the agenda at alternative mining indaba

There are thought to be at least 50 000 informal miners working underground in South Africa

Time running out: Relatives are desperately trying to rescue the scores of illegal artisanal miners who became trapped when a mine shaft in Krugersdorp was flooded. Photo: Fani Mahuntsi/Getty Images

‘I’m fighting for my sons’ lives,’ says father of trapped illegal miners in Krugersdorp

The relatives of illegal artisanal miners who are trapped underground in in a flooded mine shaft say that the authorities have failed to help them

Standoff: Zama zamas mining at abandoned sites exacerbate environmental harm and cause security issues. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Illegal mining proliferates when the state fails to issue closure certificates and regulate compliance

The problem has wide-ranging socio-economic and environmental impacts, says a draft mine closure strategy

Members of The Ugly Veg Company sorting kale. Images by Derek Davey

Ugly vegetables create a beautiful story

A small agricultural miracle is transforming a community in the Cradle of Humankind

On Tuesday, motorists were robbed at gunpoint at the Crown Interchange during peak Johannesburg traffic. (Supplied)

Illegal miners arrested this week have not been linked to M1 highway robbery, police say

On Tuesday, motorists were robbed at gunpoint at the Crown Interchange during peak Johannesburg traffic

A South African Police Services (SAPS) and South African National Defence Force (SANDF) joint operation on illegal mining in Durban Deep on November 29, 2023 in Roodepoort, South Africa. Illegal mining has been a continuing threat in South Africa for decades, with poverty, unemployment and crime driving the underground industry. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)

Artisanal miners ‘brutalised’ in SANDF clampdown

Army clampdown has led to assaults and the property of legal miners being confiscated

No choice: Illegal artisanal miners showed the Mail & Guardian where and how they do their job. Robert Chauke* and his colleagues work above ground, mining Johannesburg’s dumps that have not been adequately rehabilitated, causing environmental damage. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Illegal mining: Roodepoort residents are ‘prisoners’ of turf wars

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

Pollution: The use of highly toxic mercury to separate gold from ore is illegal because it remains in the environment for a long time, cycling between the air and soil. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Illegal mining: High risks to environment, infrastructure

The effect of illegal mining includes sabotaged pipelines that contaminate the environment, illegal water usage, sinkholes, underground fires and explosions

why-it-doesnt-make-sense-that-all-informal-mining-is-deemed-illegal. Image: Supplied

Criminal syndicates, as well as individuals, part of illegal gold mining on the West Rand

Castigating, rather than encouraging, business leaders when they advocate for harsh interventions sets us all back

Once Sibanye-Stillwater has cleaned up its own side of the street, Neal Froneman may be in a better position to advocate for better behaviour by others

Call for war on zama zamas will not bring peace to South Africa’s platinum belt

Once Sibanye-Stillwater has cleaned up its own side of the street, Neal Froneman may be in a better position to advocate for better behaviour by others

In ruins: A house used by artisanal miners, who are on the lowest rung of the illegal mining heirarchy, was burnt by West Rand residents. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Report: Police action, policy responses to artisanal mining ‘misguided’

The report by the Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime found that current enforcement and policy responses, which criminalise artisanal miners, “are…

Survival: Artisanal gold miners process slim pickings in Matholesville, on the West Rand, which relies on the economy that has developed around illegal mining. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Police take bribes from artisanal miners, West Rand residents say

The police say that allegations of complicity by some officers in the service are common and called for people to come forward with evidence

Costly closure: Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mine near Carletonville closed down and along with it the village. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

South Africa’s closed mines must not shaft people

The government’s vision for mined land: farms, tourism and self-generation of electricity

Scraping by: A community leader’s neighbour mows his lawn. (Paul Botes/M&G)

Blyvooruitzicht: A glimmer of hope between the sewage, rats and fear

‘Thrown away like rubbish’ — Residents of what was once a rich mining town have survived the seven years since the mine closed