Two events underscored the urgent need to formalise SA’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector at the same time a draft policy document outlining proposals to do just that was open for public comment.
The horrors of illegal underground mining were in evidence with the discovery of 20 bodies, some with bad burns, in Orkney in North West.
The story illustrates the nastiness of the illegal mining business, with scores of people working in unsafe conditions in old, abandoned or operational mines to extract gold.
A video doing the rounds shows a miner begging those on the surface for advice on how to get the bodies out of the deep-level mine after they were “hit by some smoke”.
Whether this was methane gas, a common danger on the Free State goldfields, or smoke from an underground fire is not clear, but some of the bodies had burns.
It is common for mine security to find bodies neatly laid out, with notes or identification attached to them, after underground incidents. Mining companies say illegal miners bring the bodies to surface so they can be sent back to their families.
The lives of these miners are horrible, with months spent underground, either smuggled there by employees at operational mines with hefty bribes changing hands, or accessing abandoned workings.
The Mine Rescue Services has video footage of illegal miners scampering down into the pitch black of deep shafts, using the metal rails and structures in the vertical tunnels that guide cages.
Not only are there the dangers of gases, falls of ground and exploding rockfaces, but inter-gang rivalry entailing underground shoot-outs, stabbings and murders are common.
The fact that the department of mineral resources & energy’s draft proposal on establishing and regulating an artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector does not entirely rule out underground mining is nothing short of astonishing.
How on earth are these heavily armed syndicates expected to transition into law-abiding, taxpaying, safe and environmentally friendly organisations?
In 2019, the Minerals Council SA put out a discussion document on ASMs and noted that its members found nine out of 10 illegal miners they had apprehended were undocumented foreigners.
This adds another wrinkle in the state’s efforts to bring artisanal mining into the formal economy. The draft policy clearly states that only SA citizens stand to benefit from future regulations.
What is needed is a far more concerted effort to stop illegal mining and the vast criminal syndicates behind it, controlling the flow of gold, diamonds, chrome ore and other minerals.
Lawyers note that illegal miners face prosecution on charges of trespassing, damage to property, illicit possession of unwrought gold or rough diamonds or some equally minor offence because there are no dedicated laws around illegal mining in SA despite its proliferation. One estimate puts the value of illegally mined gold at R70bn a year.
At one stage, more than a million tonnes of chrome ore was illegally mined and exported from SA.
There are serious numbers involved and it needs serious political will in the governing party, the police and society to bring illegal mining to a stop. Stories are legion of police turning a blind eye, political connections making it possible to continue these activities, while bribery, coercion and intimidation are also intrinsic to keeping it a thriving industry.
Bear in mind, the state took ownership of all SA’s unmined minerals for the benefit of all its citizens. There was no more private ownership of mineral deposits. Illegal mining effectively ring-fences minerals for the benefit of a few. There are no taxes, no community benefits, no employee protections.
The second event to underpin the need for a formalised ASM sector, and one which shows just how difficult it will be, particularly if there are perceptions of a get-rich-quick bonanza, are the events near Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal.
A shepherd found some shiny, diamond-looking pebbles, told a few people, and next thing hundreds of people descended on KwaHlathi in June in a free-for-all frenzy of digging for weeks to find a way out of poverty.
The hard truth was the pebbles were quartz and worth nothing.
How would the state propose to manage an ASM-approved site if a true bonanza was found? Police? Stern departmental officials wagging fingers at miscreants?
Established companies, with virtual armies of private security, have major problems with illegal miners acting with near impunity. It’s been a problem for decades and shows no sign of abating.
Policing of illicit mining is as good as non-existent if judged by this metric. The chances of the police effectively managing an invasion of property of the scale of KwaHlathi when there are real riches to be gained are slim.
There is no doubt that the intention of establishing a formal ASM sector is a noble, well-meaning development, but the mind-boggling complexities of SA society, the high levels of poverty and growing unemployment, ineffectual policing and entrenched criminal syndicates make this too little too late.
The sector first needs effective, powerful and visible policing to address and purge the scourge of illegal mining, cleaning the industry. Tougher laws around illicit mining, mineral processing and trade must be developed and implemented as a matter of urgency.
The mineral sector needs this to set it up for ASMs who sell their minerals through vetted channels, contribute to society with taxes and operate within legal parameters on environmental, health and safety matters.
Anything else is just wasting time.
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