Forensic pathology vehicles at Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg removing bodies of people who died after inhaling poisonous gas. Picture: City of Ekurhuleni
Ekurhuleni mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana has confirmed that 17 people died as a result of an explosion caused by a gas leak at Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, on Wednesday night.
The release of nitrate oxide from gas cylinders is believed to be the cause of the explosion. Illegal miners trying to extract gold from the ground in the area are being blamed.
In a video on the City of Ekurhuleni’s Twitter page Ngodwana promised support to the residents of Angelo who lost their loved ones.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who visited the scene on Thursday, urged residents to come forward with information about who was responsible for the blast.
He said the province was under siege by illegal miners.
“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the nitrate oxide was being used by illegal miners in the area,” Lesufi said in a statement.
There are a number of reasons for people turn to illegal mining, the main one being the high unemployment rate.
The zama zamas (“keep trying” in Zulu) endeavour to extract gold and other valuable metals from abandoned mines. Many of them die as a result of gas leaks, the collapse of shafts and in altercations between miners.
In June, the department of mineral resources and energy reported the death of at least 31 suspected illegal miners in a ventilation shaft at the Virginia mine, in Welkom, Free State.
There are an estimated 30 000 illegal miners in South Africa, according to a report by Enact, with R14 billion in gold production lost each year.
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said during a parliamentary debate on illegal mining that it is associated with serious crimes such as illicit financial flows, high levels of violence, human trafficking and the smuggling of weapons and explosives.
“It is our considered view that illegal mining is a criminal activity which must be dealt with within the prescripts of the law,” said Mantashe.
But Enact suggests a better way to curb the surge in illegal mining would be to include the zama zamas in the legal supply chain.
“Centralisation of the system regulating the purchase and processing of precious metals would contribute significantly to including zama zamas in the legal supply chain. A single designated gold buyer, or a small group, would buy at the daily spot price, offering the miners true market value for their gold, thereby incentivising them to operate within a formalised and legal framework,” the group says.