‘My life as a zama zama’ – Springs man tells all
The story of a Springs man turning his life around after being an illegal miner. Read his story about life as a 'zama zama'.
Shaft 8 is a 120-year-old gold mine operation owned by the East Rand Property Mines (ERPM).
It is said to have been the deepest mine in the world until 2008 when Tau Tona mine took the lead, claiming for itself the prestigious title of being the biggest underground mine operation.
Nkosinathi Mashigo (30) is a former ‘zama zama’ or illegal miner who wants to create a better life for himself and his family. (The term “zama zama” originates from the IsiZulu word “zama” which means to try).
He lives in a disadvantaged informal settlement in Springs and describes the community as “cold and dangerous”.
• Read: Illegal miner buried alive in Springs
He was raised by a single mother of five who brought love into their home.
“My mother is a strong woman and she worked like a slave to ensure that we could have food, even though we couldn’t afford to eat every day,” he says.
“We were so poor we spent weeks on end without food and still had to go to school.
“We would break into people’s homes just to steal food,” he adds.
He met up with a man in his community who was well-known at the time and asked him to help him find a job.
“I was so desperate for a way out of poverty I would’ve done anything,“ he says.
And that’s how Nkosinathi got into the business of being a zama zama.
“I was too hungry to care about death,” he says.
In illegal mining operations, there are different departments responsible for performing different functions within a single shaft, and zama zamas are responsible for digging and producing gold.
“We could work in a hole for days on end with no machinery to help us – we used our bare hands. It’s difficult,” he says.
Once they find gold it’s moved into the ‘base’, which is where they are provided with equipment to extract particles of gold from the sand.
• Read: Gang wars erupt over abandoned mines in South Africa
“The owners of the base gave us isigidi (mercury), which is used to capture fine gold,” he explains.
Once the zama zamas leave the base, that’s a dangerous environment all on its own, because people rob and kill them for the gold they carry home with them each day.
“We would crawl and slither on the ground, even on open roads till we reached a safe destination,” he says.
That’s why they have security guards in place.
He describes them as ruthless people who aren’t afraid of killing anyone who gets in their way.
“After serving time in jail and nearly losing my life, I decided to change my ways.
• Also read: SAPS arrest 11 illegal miners
“I look at my children and can’t imagine leaving them in this world to suffer.
“I started washing people’s dustbins so I can generate money
“It’s a filthy job. But I would rather be at risk of contracting viruses through touching faeces than risk losing my life through crime,” he says.
