The South African mining industry, once one of the most productive on the continent, is now in its death throes, leaving behind more than 6,000 abandoned mines, unemployed mine workers and previously labour-intensive areas without income.

Abandoned mines, also known as derelict and ownerless mines, are defined as those mines for which a closure certificate has not been issued and whose mine owners cannot be traced to assume responsibilities.

These mines endanger the safety and lives of people in different ways.

Safety hazards

Cases of adventurous people sustaining injuries or dying in abandoned underground mine tunnels, drowning in water filling the mine pits, or falling from dilapidated and unstable structures have been recorded.

Many people, mostly illegal immigrants from the neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, enter the abandoned underground mines working for illegal mining purposes.

Although the exact number of illegal miners is unknown, some estimates do exist, with the South African Institute of International Affairs believing that around 14,000 people are engaged in illicit mining.

However, according to a report by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT), there are between 8,000 and 30,000 illegal miners reported in South Africa, including common reports of child labour and other human rights abuses.

Illegal mining has made a considerable dent to the economy

According to the Government Communication Information System (GCIS), the cost of illegal mining is estimated to be over R70 billion annually in gold alone, resulting in huge losses of revenue for both the government and the mining sector.

GCIS added that these illegal activities have a negative impact on the safety and health of surrounding communities. This also impacts the overall wellbeing of the environment and is a risk to the sustainability of the mining industry.

Last year, the SAPS had to guard an abandoned gold mine near Stilfontein in the North West and trapped thousands of miners within, with many scared to leave the mine for fear of being arrested by security officials - the intense standoff lasted for weeks.

Officials also cut off food and water supplies to force the miners to leave, vowing not to help with rescue efforts as they believed some miners were armed and posed a risk to rescuers.

The organisation Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua), which has been consistently advocating for the right to life of the trapped miners at Stilfontein and for government assistance in providing relief, said the government has not taken adequate steps to ensure mining companies rehabilitate mine sites despite the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) requiring companies to do so.

However, the organisation added, there have been requests to legalise the activities of the Zama zamas by formalising small-scale mining to create jobs.

Macua spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele said the MPRDA, as it stands, fails to protect marginalised and mining-affected communities against mining corporations that refuse to abide by environmental laws and to comply with the social labour plans (SLPs), which should be done in consultation with the affected community.

Mndebele said the organisation’s submission to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) also calls for the inclusion of underground mining, which is currently excluded in the MPRDA, hence the criminalisation of those who mine without licenses.

“However, mining companies who fail to adhere to all the regulations attached to the issuance of a mining license often fall short in many respects, yet they are not criminalised for mining. Essentially, the MPRDA as it stands protects the elites and mining companies, at the expense of the poor,” said Mndebele.

Mining sector should be formalised to ensure job creation

Mndebele said formalising the sector will help grow the economy in several ways. He said the artisanal miners, known as Zama-zamas, will get decent wages and work in a safe and inspected environment.

“If they get decent wages, it means they will have more buying power and that means more money will circulate to the economy.

“Once the sector is regulated, SARS will be able to tax all those who work in the sector. Where does the money that SARS collects go? It goes to, at least in theory, help in funding public interest projects, building schools, hospitals, our roads, our municipalities, etc,” he said.

Mndebele added that this also means that SARS and the government will be able to benefit materially from the sector as the revenue collected will go to the country’s fiscus.

“When the sector is formalised and regulated, there would be professionals that will be needed to ensure that safety and health standards are complied with, that will create more jobs on the value chain, the state may also buy the minerals extracted in the small-scale mining industry, there will be more people needed for that.

“Someone would need to transport the minerals, more people are needed for that as well. If the sector could be regulated, the estimates are that at least 10 million jobs will be created, directly and indirectly.”

According to a 2022 report by the Human Rights Watch, the South African government has not taken adequate steps to ensure coal mining companies rehabilitate mine sites despite the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) requiring companies to do so. This, according to the report, puts communities at risk of injury and death and risks polluting residents' water sources.

Abandoned asbestos mines

DMPR said 49 abandoned asbestos mines have been rehabilitated so far, along with 746 unsafe holes and shafts, down from the 1,170 identified in 2005.

Spokesperson Johannes Mokobane said the number of abandoned mines is 6,100, including all mining commodities in South Africa. Mokobane said the department was responsible for the rehabilitation and closure of these mines.

“Small-scale mining is a formalised sector under Section 27 sector of the MPRDA. Furthermore, a policy on artisanal and small-scale mining was gazetted in 2022. The department also offers financial and non-financial support to artisanal and small-scale miners,” he said.

But, according to the Bench Marks Foundation 2023 report titled “Survival mining in South Africa”, this policy has a number of shortcomings. In particular, it ignores the former miners from outside South Africa and fails to provide for a centralised buying agency, allowing criminal syndicates to continue.

The foundation’s researcher, David van Wyk, said Bench Marks Foundation supports the formalisation and regulation of small-scale and artisanal mining, adding that the economy will benefit from thousands of jobs created and from the positive ripple effect of spending in nearby mine communities.

“If the government sets up a central buying agency, then the activities of small-scale and artisanal mining operations can be taxed. This contributes positively to the National economy. A central buying agency for minerals will eliminate criminal syndicates that dominate small-scale and artisanal mining at the moment,” he said.

manyane.manyane@inl.co.za