An inside look at illegal mining
These shafts often are extremely unstable and supported by inadequately thin wood beams only.
“It is a never-ending battle and if the excavation tunnels are not sealed, illegal mining will continue. All the miners are illegal immigrants and this is the only way for them to generate some kind of income, albeit illegal.”
These are the words of Colonel André Laing of the Roodepoort Police.
Armed with only a cellphone, the Record visited an illegal-mining site in Durban Deep earlier this year to record the activities at the site. Although the workers were fairly at ease going about their jobs, we were told that if they should find out that a recording was being made, they could turn violent at the drop of a hat.
Also read: Illegal mining ravaging Durban Deep
There are four phases to extract the gold. In the first phase, volunteers go down makeshift shafts as deep at 400 to 500 metres to collect as many rocks as possible. These shafts often are extremely unstable and supported by inadequately thin wood beams only. According to Laing, the men buy stolen tubes of explosives to blast inside the already unstable tunnels in search of more gold-bearing rocks. He said the problem is that during the blast the pillars inside the shaft are damaged and this often results in the tunnels collapsing, claiming lives.
“The explosives either were stolen from a mine or brought in from Zimbabwe. In August we arrested a Zimbabwean woman who was in possession of 15 tubes and detonators. The case is pending,” Laing said. He added that the tubes and detonators are sold at around R250 each.
During the second phase, the women who work above ground break up the rocks into smaller pieces and then grind it by hand to a fine dust. “This usually is very time-consuming, but they devised a phenduka from an empty gas canister with a hole in the side. Rocks and steel balls are placed inside and as they turn the phenduka, it grinds the rocks into a fine dust. It is very effective and time saving,” Laing explained.
The fine dust is handed over to the men who work on the James Tables. Laing described it as long tables covered in towels that slant forward. Water brought in from nearby shacks is used to ‘wash’ the dust and as the water flows down the table, the gold sticks to the towels. “They use 1 000 litre plastic water tanks, which means the water runs 24/7. Alternatively, they break the main water pipes to obtain water illegally,” Laing said.
Also read: Illegal Matholesville mining thwarted
In the last phase, the clay-like substance is treated with mercury, which is a highly toxic metal, and burned to extract the gold from the sand in the form of gold nuggets, which is then sold.
Apart from their illegal mining activities these miners, known as zama zamas, are in constant conflict. Laing said the Mozambicans, Zimbabweans and Lesotho nationals kill each other and often dump their victims’ bodies in the makeshift shafts. About 70 per cent of murders in that area are related to illegal mining. Laing said other deaths among the zama zamas include carbon monoxide poisoning and rock falls.
The extensive network of underground tunnels can reach as far as Springs. “We have identified four main sites in the Roodepoort area and are attempting to close it as soon as possible,” Laing said. He and his team started this project in 2011 already.
“The more we can disrupt their operations, the closer we might get to closing down all illegal mining activities completely. But it is a struggle,” Laing said.
Watch the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um2C_oazL7E&feature=youtu.be
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Also read: Minister shocked by illegal mining
Police make a dent in illegal mining problem
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