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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.
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.
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.
Concerns over the environmental impact of illegal gold mining - known in the country as "galamsey" - have become another major talking-point. A series of demonstrations over the practice, which ...
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 former police officer with 12 years' experience in cases of "illegal mining" said he feared that hundreds more bodies of "illegals" could still be underground in mines in the city of Welkom, according to a report in the leading Afrikaans daily, Beeld. He estimated that about 3,000 illegal miners work underground in the mines in Welkom alone. [3]
The government of Uganda obtained $200 million in trade revenue from the sale of gold in 2012, but expects that to decrease in 2013 as a result of illegal mining operations. [12] The group InSight Crime claims that illegal mining represents up to 30% of the revenues of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). [1]