Gold Recycling Project

Makhotla Sefuli

Gold mining has always been the backbone of our local economy as the community of Free
State Goldfields for over seven decades. The infrastructure development of our region was
influenced by the gold mining rush of the early 1950s. Our area was among the fastest-growing
in the country. This came to an abrupt end with the closure of the mines in the late 1990s.
The people had never known anything except mining, they had to seek other alternatives to eke
out a living in the falling and fast-declining economy. The derelict and abandoned mine shafts
were a fertile ground for illegal mining as the only alternative to the rising unemployment. Heaps
of gold dust around the township became a common sight. People acted with so much impunity,
not even afraid of the police. They became a law unto themselves.
The environment was the one thing that was suffering in the process, it wasn’t long before the
authorities took action against this illicit gold trade. Two months ago we just woke up to the
sound of the roaring trucks and yellow fleet next to the Hostel complex, two banners were
standing erected warning people not to enter the area. Out of curiosity, I approached one of the
men working on the site. He told me they were taking the soil to the processing plant to be
remined again. These are the heaps of gold dust that were left abandoned by the zama zamas,
this project lasted for two months and the site is now covered with stones.
This will ensure that no one ever opens a mine again in that area. The question that one has to
ask is, who exactly are the illegal miners? Will the removal of heaps of gold dust put a stop to
illegal mining or will it only exacerbate the problem? Instead of scavenging on the leftovers of
the Zama Zamas, why not make sure that those people are given an identity? Make sure that
they are recognized as small-scale artisanal miners, rather than vilifying and dehumanizing
them.
These people have said many times that they are not out to hurt anyone, all they want is an
opportunity to make a living and feed their families.
This will not be a solution, rather it will be a witch hunt for illegal miners because they will move
to another place to open a new mine again. The environment continues to suffer in the process
because the area is not rehabilitated, and it will not be long before people start dumping rubbish
in the area again. We need a permanent solution to the problem, not temporary solutions that
backfire one day.