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There are tens of thousands of illegal miners in South Africa, with Mr Van Wyk saying they number about 36,000 alone in Gauteng province - the country's economic heartland, where gold was first ...
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.
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.
Galamsey in Ghana. Galamsey refers to illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana. [1] The term is derived from the English phrase "gather them and sell". [2] Historically, galamsey referred to traditional small-scale mining practices in Ghana, where local communities would gather and search for gold in rivers and streams.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed more than 3,000 troops to combat illegal mining activity last November. Since the operation's creation through the beginning of this month, more ...
A major research report from November 2012 by the Southern Africa Resource Watch revealed that gold miners in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo were being exploited by corrupt government officials, bureaucrats and security personnel, who all demand illegal tax, fees and levies from the miners without delivering any services in return ...
Susan Shabangu, South Africa's Minister of Mining, visited the mine on 2 June 2009. [2] She condemned the act of mining illegally but expressed her sympathies with the relatives of the victims: The government will not condone illicit mining, but these are human lives that have been lost. Children have been orphaned and women have been widowed. [6]
Police destroyed illegal gold mining operations in La Pampa last week in one of the biggest operations the government has launched since 2014.