Illegal miners say they earn on average R800 to R1 000 a day, which they split between themselves. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
At 6am every day, Robert Chauke* and his illegal artisanal miner colleagues descend on a cluster of abandoned mine dumps on Gauteng’s West Rand, scouring them for gold.
Here, the young men, all of whom are from Mozambique, wash and process soils in a rudimentary operation in which they extract gold and sell it on to illicit buyers.
The 22-year-old Chauke lives in Braamfischerville, Soweto. “Jobs are scarce,” he said, above the loud drone of the operation’s generator. “Finding work from other places is not an option. When you go look for your job, you need your papers.”
The miners said they earn on average R800 to R1 000 a day, which they split between themselves. “The buyers aren’t the same, some pay a lot of money, some pay little,” said Chauke, whose torn, tattered clothes were coated in dust.
Every Friday, they each pay R50 for protection, they said. “It’s for security but when they get the money, the security just leaves,” Chauke said.
The “boss” of the group, Michael Muchate* arrived in Johannesburg in 2018.
“I was doing the same thing in Mozambique, so I have experience. It’s difficult to do this illegally at home because when you do that, there are soldiers who want shares. It’s easier here.”
*Not their real names