Almost none of the great Western columnists talk about it, and yet In Africa this tragic story of thousands and thousands of clandestine miners It is the latest in a series that is repeated, with the almost total indifference of African governments and other continents. But, while many African states have embarked on very rapid growth paths, at the same time the exploitation of the most miserable inhabitants of this continent not only continues but even maintains the most abject forms of medieval practices of subservience. In this case, it is a question of the fact that the South African authorities They have blocked thousands of illegal miners, for over a month and a half, trapping them underground in a closed mine in North West province, in Stilfontein, who are now without essential supplies.
South Africa: Police Operation “Close the Hole”
The police operation, nicknamed “Vala Umgodi” or “Close the Hole”, implemented by the new South African government of national unity, which includes the black party, theANC-African National Congress, and the white party, the DA-Democratic Alliance, look at cut off access to supplies to force miners to emerge and face arrest. Authorities have recently blocked entrances used to transport essential supplies such as food and water underground, creating a desperate situation for miners who remain hidden in the mine shaft.
Since December, with the new government, the South African police have intensified operations against these mining unions, seizing hundreds of firearms, thousands of bullets and large quantities of rough diamonds and cash. The highly organised nature of these illegal operations has posed significant challenges to law enforcement, as miners remain underground for weeks or even months, supported by supplies smuggled from above. These mine They are generally old pits abandoned by previous mining activities, especially in the former gold regions, where abandoned pits still have the allure of unused deposits and where significant quantities of ore are still found that, with current gold prices, are always profitable to recover. As authorities tighten their grip on illegal mining, the operation at Stilfontein sends a strong message: it will not be extended no assistance to those who choose to work outside the law.
Initially the police received information suggesting that approximately 4.500 miners were trapped down there, a thousand have come out of the wells and been arrested by the police, including dozens who came out in precarious physical conditions due to hunger and thirst, others probably escaped from unknown exits so much so that recent estimates put the number closer to 350-400, according to a police spokeswoman.
The Underground Reality of Illegal Mining
In these mines there were multiple levels organized like a city, with a level with informal sales and refreshment points, one level used as a dormitory, one as a warehouse and even one used as a morgue since there are frequent collapses and accidents; all of this run by a gang which provides these services for a fee and charges miners a fee to work, making the miners themselves dependent on the gang in a semi-slavery relationship. But with over a third of workers unemployed in South Africa, thousands of people are always available to work in the informal mining sector.
The Expansion of Illegal Mining in South Africa
Since in recent decades many industrial mines in South Africa they were sold out, the country produced 600 tons of gold annually in the 90s, now less than 100 tons annually, illegal mining has thrived. Although precise numbers are not known, analysts estimate that there are up to 30.000 illegal miners called “zama zama” ( seize the opportunity in the Zulu language), which extracts about 10% of South Africa’s gold production from 6.000 abandoned mine shafts. Illegal mining operations are often controlled by criminal organizations and have been linked to fatal shootings and other violent crimes.
Legal actions and intervention by NGOs
The operation launched by the South African government in an attempt to crack down on the sector saw the Minister in the Presidency, Mrs. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, saying: “We are not sending aid to criminals. Criminals should not be helped, criminals should be persecuted.” His comments caused an outcry amid fears that miners underground could become too weak to come out and could die underground. A Ong of a group of legal activists, has started alegal action to request access to the well of the mine and the South African High Court issued an interim order stating that the supplies could be delivered to the miners. On the same day, the local volunteers They lowered food and water into the mine with a rope and rescued, also with a rope, two men who seemed frail and dehydrated. To this day, the situation does not seem to be resolved.
Global estimates of informal mining work
La World Bank I estimate that there are 45 million miners on a small scale in 80 countries in the world and up to 90% of them operates informally without licenses and in poor condition. They are known as zama zamas in South Africa and Galamseys in Ghana and constitute the largest mining workforce in the world: so what is their impact on the continent. It is estimated that from 10% of South African gold to 50% of Ghanaian, Burkinabe, Malian Congolese or Sudanese gold be mined informally and sold clandestinely in compliant countries like Rwanda or the Emirates that, despite not producing gold, sell a lot of it on the international market. (2.900 tons sold in 2022 by Rwanda, 57 billion USD imported and 33 billion USD exported in 2022 by the United Arab Emirates, the world's third largest gold traders).
