Illegal mining: the problem and possible solutions
The South African Human Rights Commission estimates that there are between 8000 and 30 000 illegal miners operating in South Africa. According to the Chamber of Mines, roughly between 5% and 10% of South Africa’s annual gold production stems from illegal mining. The conditions in which illegal mining occurs have been described as being akin to the “Wild West”. The practice raises serious concerns about the maintenance of law and order, and at present there do not appear to be any easy solutions for this problem.
Abandoned mines are a common feature of the South African landscape. These mines occur for a number of reasons. For example, a mining company that is liquidated may abandon its mining operations before complying with the statutory obligations for closure. In other cases, the abandoned mine may be historic, having existed before the currently regulatory regime came into operation. Furthermore, the decision to cease commercial production of a mine is not synonymous with the depletion of minerals. Valuable minerals often remain in mines where commercial production is no longer viable.
Illegal mining is particularly prevalent where there has been a failure to take adequate measures to close a mine. However, illegal mining also occurs in unused mines for which closure measures have been taken. Illegal miners will go to great lengths to circumvent efforts to prevent access to unused mines, such as using dynamite to blast through sealed entrances. Even where companies seek to take responsibility through employing security at unused shafts, there is no guarantee that illegal miners will not bribe their way in. Irrespective of the reason why mines are abandoned, illegal miners inevitably will attempt to move in and scrape off a living from the remaining resources. These illegal miners are colloquially, and appropriately, referred to as zama zamas, the word zama meaning “trying for luck”
Illegal mining is dangerous work and the practice is generally associated with lawlessness. It is standard practice for miners to spend months at a time underground, facing a very real possibility of death. The collapsing of mines and poisonous gasses are two of the most common threats. In 2009, at least 82 illegal miners died from inhalation of poisonous gasses after an underground fire started in an unused section of Harmony Gold's Eland Shaft operations in Welkom. In 2014, 21 illegal miners had to be rescued from an abandoned mine in Benoni, Gauteng. More recently in 2015, emergency personnel could not reach 12 illegal miners as a result of fumes from an underground explosion of a generator.
The rising body count from illegal mining does not only stem from underground accidents. Gang wars over mines where commercial activities have ceased are common. Competing gangs tend to be heavily armed, often leaving security helpless and police too scared to intervene. Where private security companies do take action, it seems that they exacerbate the lawlessness and violence in some instances, with claims of torture and extrajudicial executions against them. In 2014, a private security company was allegedly responsible for the beating and killing of an illegal mine worker, Sonwabo Gcwek, at Blyvooruitzicht gold mine. Furthermore, human rights are not respected in these lawless zones. It is not unheard of for gangs to kidnap members of other gangs, and to force them to work in slave-like conditions in mine shafts.
There are no easy solutions to the problems that arise from illegal mining. Ideally, mining companies must take responsibility to ensure proper closure and securing of unused mines. There is the possibility of heavier penalties for mining companies that fail secure unused or closed mines. This, however, fails to take into account that the hiring of security and sealing of mine shafts have not always prevented illegal mining. Moreover, the unused mine may be historic or the original mining company may no longer exist.
An array of factors reduce the likelihood that current law enforcement efforts will succeed in preventing illegal mining. In the face of high levels of unemployment and ineffective mine closure, illegal miners will, in all probability, continue to endeavour in the practice of illegal mining. It has been suggested that a solution to illegal mining would be to legalise and regulate artisanal mining, allowing illegal miners to obtain permits to carry out their activities. This is the approach taken to what is referred to as artisanal mining in many African countries, including South Africa’s neighbour to the north, Zimbabwe. It is arguable that regulation of artisanal mining is preferable to fruitless efforts aimed at eradicating the practice, at least as a measure that may break the hold of organised gangs on artisanal mining.
Written by Richard Cramer.