Artisanal gold mining in South Africa is out of control
- Tracy-Lynn Field
Artisanal gold mining is highly organised and rule-bound. Men, women and even children participate a hierarchy sustained by buyers, sponsors and customers.
Illegal and unregulated artisanal gold mining on the , located south of South Africa’s Gauteng province, is an increasing threat to community, industrial and state security. Reports on , or are commonplace.
But recent incidents point to a spike in the scale of illegal activity, conflict and criminality.
In October 2021, approximately 300 illegal miners, known as “zama zamas”, when the officers tried to prevent them from delivering food parcels to underground miners. In June 2022, about 150 illegal miners stormed gold miner Sibanye-Stillwater’s in an attempt to gain control. And since last week, South Africans have been reeling at the of a film crew at a mine dump close to West Village, a multi-racial suburb of Krugersdorp on the West Rand.
West Village community members have since spoken out about being . They attribute rampant crime in the area over the last few years to the influx of illegal mining – a situation that law enforcement officials seem unable or unwilling to control.
In the wake of these incidents, the spotlight must turn to the systemic reasons artisanal gold mining has become such a threat to peace and security. These include the state’s decades-long failure to nip an unregulated and illegal artisanal gold mining industry in the bud. These incidents are also the result of the failure to formalise artisanal mining as a livelihood strategy through appropriate policies and legislative provisions.
Failed opportunities to formalise artisanal mining
Artisanal mining is a labour-intensive form of mining that uses rudimentary tools and technologies. Other recognise artisanal mining as a formal mining category. These include Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Foundational policies in the early years of South Africa’s democracy didn’t support artisanal mining as a permanent livelihood strategy. The simply committed government to encourage “small-scale mining”. This was on the proviso that safety, labour, environment and health conditions could be maintained. The identified artisanal with subsistence mining. It flagged the need for the state to employ resources to “control artisanal mining as effectively as possible.”
The 2002 only recognises large- and small-scale mining. It criminalises all mining outside these categories.
In addition, the empowered the South African Diamonds and Precious Metals Regulator to regulate the acquisition, smelting, refining and beneficiation of gold. This removed the prior involvement of the South African Police Service and has been a key enabling factor for the unregulated gold mining industry.
An illegal artisanal gold mining industry takes root
South Africa’s Witwatersrand goldfields . But in recent decades, large-scale gold mining has declined precipitously. Between 2012 and 2019 .
In this context, an illegal and unregulated gold mining industry, among the most lucrative and violent , has taken root.
The Minerals Council of South Africa and police have identified a in the illegal and unregulated gold mining industry. Illegal miners are on the bottom tier. Gangs and , licensed bulk buyers (scrap metal dealers and pawn brokers) at national or regional level, front company exporters, and international intermediary buyers and companies are the more significant criminal actors.
The Institute of Security Studies estimates that the approximately 30,000 illegal miners produce R14 billion (just over US$8 million) worth . From the state’s perspective this is “lost production”. The have been identified as the primary export destinations.
Artisanal mining as a permanent livelihood strategy
Thousands of illegal miners pursue artisanal mining . Recent PhD graduate this. He studied the natural, social, financial, human and physical capitals that frame artisanal mining in South Africa. He examined the push and pull factors that drive people into this high-risk activity.
The push factors include a loss of formal employment in the mining industry, lack of alternative employment opportunities and drought conditions in neighbouring countries. The pull factors include the ease of accessing mineralised land, social capital provided by national and ethnic groups in control of illegal mining and the relatively stable income.
The risks and illegality of the work itself, trespassing, the rampant use of mercury and make this dangerous and volatile work.
Solutions
In 2014 the South African Human Rights Commission conducted . The commission called for the state to institute an appropriate policy and regulatory framework to facilitate and manage artisanal mining as a livelihood strategy.
In March 2022, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe . The policy recognises the potential of artisanal mining as a livelihood strategy. But it reserves the permit system for South Africans. It tasks a National Coordination and Strategic Management Team to “halt” illegal mining.
The policy has been criticised for its failure to take public comments into account. It has also been criticised for its fantastical assumption that “platoons of illegal miners will .” Implementing the policy will also require legislative amendments, which may take years to finalise.
Mantashe, as well as the department, must urgently speed up attempts to formalise artisanal mining as a livelihood strategy. The department should properly engage the mining industry and civil society in this process.
At the same time, a coordinated transnational effort to break the strangle-hold of the criminal syndicates must continue.
Applying a agreed by OECD countries on managing supply chains in conflict and high risk areas could also help manage the problem.
Finally, the powers conferred on the precious metals regulator need to be revisited. The changes need to ensure that property security checks on sellers can be conducted and patterns in the supply of gold can be determined. Unscrupulous licensed bulk buyers of illegally mined gold must also be identified and brought to book.
Dr Maxwell Chuma contributed to this article and the research it’s based on. He is a lecturer at Learnex Corporate Training.
, Professor of environmental and sustainability law ,
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