SURVIVAL MINING IS DEEPER THAN WHAT IS SEEN ON THE SURFACE
Thabang Thembani
SURVIVAL MINING IS DEEPER THAN WHAT IS SEEN ON THE SURFACE
South Africa is among the countries with debilitating statistics of high unemployment that has left
many young people suffering horribly from financial and mental challenges. This has led them to
taking anything that may help them cope or deal with the gruesome economic challenges they face daily.
In mine hosting communities, the situation is worse; those are precincts where one would think that jobs are available for the youth. The reality is the opposite, young people are not working and the mining industry is declining at a rapid and alarming rate. People from outside areas are seen to be the ones who are given priority.
In a very small township like Nyakallong, that is surrounded by four shafts. Jeanette shaft No 1 was the first to close down; followed by No 2. After a few years, No 3 also followed suit. This shaft has been closing and opening constantly until it was completely shut down; leaving only No 1 that is still operational. Many families were relying on these mines to sustain their livelihoods, the closure of the mines killed the hope that these people had and unemployment became a sad reality. Others relocated to other towns to seek greener pastures, others opened small businesses while others were left with no choice but to resort to survival mining.
The closure of the mines created a very huge vacuum and that became a fertile ground for the
survival mining rogue unit. These people are infamously referred to as Zama-Zamas and their
number is growing rapidly. This is in the backdrop of a dominant xenophobic narrative that Lesotho,
Mozambique and Zimbabwean nationals are the ones who crossed their borders to come and wreck
havoc around our townships. However, the reality is that not all of them are foreigners. We have
South Africans who are also involved in the underworld of illegal mining. After a thorough research,
one can come to a conclusion that these people are only trying to make a living because the only
thing they know is how to mine and nothing beyond that.
Mpho Tlali is a twenty-four-year-old young man who found himself working for the survival mining
gangs, he had this to say after we engaged thoroughly with him “I was only nineteen years old and in
grade 11, that time I impregnated a girl and my family wanted noting to do with that situation. I had
to find a means of survival for me and my child, that is how I found myself joining other men
working as Zama-Zamas. It was quick cash but also risky with many dangers. I had to quit working
there because of too many police raids at that place, which meant working during the night in fear of
the police and the risk of being arrested. On the payment date, you could not even negotiate your payment even when you felt that you were ripped off unless you had a death wish.”
Survival mining is not regulated by any legislation in this country, it exists through black market and
black market is very violent especially when you don’t have bargaining power. In the survival mining
sector, people work in an industry that is characterized by risks. They don’t have any laws to protect
them and work for long hours without any benefits like medical insurance and workman’s
compensation. Moreover, they don’t have any right to negotiate their earnings, when they do that
they are killed or replaced.
It is clear that survival mining is not a practice that is going to end any time soon, it is a lucrative
South Africa, illegal mining will not come to an end. An anonymous Lesotho national who works for one of the syndicates had this to say:- “Your government thinks we are here because we want to cause havoc in this country, that is not the case.We’re here because we want to fend for ourselves and support our families, survival mining gave us that opportunity of being men of dignity in the eyes of our families. It is not our fault that young men of this country do not feel the same, and we’re not here to influence them to join this business. We joined this work knowing all the risks that are involved in this industry and the dangers that one has to face”. Instead of labeling survival miners, they can be used as references to illustrate how terrible the conditions are in South Africa and neighboring countries that used to serve as labour sending areas.
