Mining expert David Van Wyk says some mine managers might be involved in illegal mining and that zama zamas are being recruited as a low-cost workforce.
By Mapaballo Borotho
The deaths of 14 suspected illegal miners in a mine collapse near Rustenburg have raised fresh questions about oversight of mining operations and illegal mining in South Africa.
The incident happened after a mudslide caused the hole to cave in, leaving at least 14 people dead and several others injured.
Law enforcement authorities have launched an inquest into the disaster.
This is a legally operating mine; however, Sustenza Trading claims that the miners were not detected and that it is unclear how they entered the mine.
North West Police Commissioner Arthur Adams says monitoring licensed mines falls under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, with efforts underway to improve coordination.
Phemelo Motene spoke to mining expert David Van Wyk on Kaya 959’s Point of View.
Van Wyk says access to South African mines is far too easy, and this is the reason why the country is experiencing a high rate of illegal mining activities.
“There’s absolutely no control over the gate anymore, and people can come in anyway. For example, in a certain area, mine workers were retrenched; however, those workers did not go away; they just lived in a nearby informal settlement, and the only thing they know how to do is mining. As a result, they ventured into illegal mining,” he said.
He emphasised that it is also important to note that some mine managers might be involved in illegal mining. There’s a possibility that they steal from their own companies.
“The minerals that these zama zamas extract underground have to be processed; gold, platinum and chrome are processed. The other issue is that some of these shafts are getting closed because they are reaching mineral depletion but no one wants to admit that; therefore, some mines create economic opportunities for people who have been retrenched from mines and so on,” he added.
Van Wyk says as much as law enforcement authorities are doing their jobs by arresting illegal miners, it has to be noted that these zama zamas have been recruited and are operating at 50% of the wages of the normal worker, with no pensions and no medical aid, so they are a low-cost workforce.
“This is exactly what happened in Congo, and we predicted at that time that we would face the same thing in South Africa if we did not take control of the situation,” he said.
Listen to the podcast for the full conversation.
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