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Zama zamas are illegal artisanal miners in South Africa who occupy closed or operational mines to mine for minerals such as gold, iron ore, coal, and manganese. The term zama zama loosely translates to "take a chance" in isiZulu and they use rudimentary tools and explosives for mining.
South African authorities began a siege of the mine in August 2024, cutting off food, water and medicine supplies, in an attempt to force illegal miners to come to the surface and be arrested. [1] The blocking of key shaft exits trapped miners underground, with reports suggesting that many were unable to resurface, fearing arrest or retribution ...
Illegal gold miners, commonly referred to as "zama zamas", operate in abandoned mine shafts and use the empty gas cylinders, known as "phendukas", to process the stolen ore. The cylinders, often stolen, are first drained of gas, then cut open so that ore can be placed in them along with a steel ball which crushes the ore as the cylinder is rotated.
Gold laundering is the process whereby illegally obtained gold is melted and recast into another form. The recasting is performed to obscure or conceal the true origin of the gold. The recast gold is then sold, thus laundering it into cash. It may also refer to a money laundering transaction in which the exchanged good is gold.
Illegal mining can be a subsistence activity, as is the case with artisanal mining, or it can belong to large-scale organized crime, [2] spearheaded by illegal mining syndicates. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] On an international level, approximately 80 percent of small-scale mining operations can be categorized as illegal. [ 5 ]
The Niger gold mine collapse occurred on 7 November 2021 when a manually dug well collapsed at the Garin-Liman mining area of Maradi region, Niger. [1] The day of the mine disaster left 18 people dead on the spot, 7 injured and hospitalised, and dozens of miners buried underground waiting to be rescued.
An Indigenous group in Brazil said Wednesday its members detained 12 people for allegedly mining illegally in the Amazon and handed them over to police. The non-profit Urihi Associação Yanomami ...
At least 31 people are suspected to have died in a methane gas explosion at a disused gold mine in South Africa around the third week of May in 2023. [3] [2] [4] [5] [6]The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) reported late on 22 June 2023 that the miners had died in a mining shaft at the abandoned Virginia mine in Welkom, Free State.