llegal Miners: The pain and the profit, a true Mail & Guardian story

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Fri 01 Sep   [Ron Derby] There are stories that only the Mail & Guardian can do justice to in this country of ours that’s so full of tales. This week, the excellent Sheree Bega delivered a piece of work that shows this ability. In her package on the uncontrollable “illegal” artisanal mining on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the city of gold, she speaks to people who live in these societies where desperate men from all corners of sub-Saharan Africa — including South Africans — try to get to gold. Beyond speaking to people who depend on this artisanal mining in the face of deindustrialisation that has been taking place since the late 1970s, she gets us closer to the environmental cost and risks to our infrastructure from the enterprise. According to a report funded by the European Union in 2019, lost production from artisanal mining exceeds more than R14 billion a year. (The rollout of the National Health Insurance, that the Mail & Guardian has welcomed despite our reservations because of the capacity of the state to deliver, is expected to cost an additional R33 billion a year from 2025-26 financial year, according to the government.) In this world class city that is Johannesburg — if you believe the PR spiel — there are people dying in the deepest bowels of our country looking for the yellow metal and being left in makeshift body bags with phone numbers for their next kin to find — if they are so lucky. For the most part, their peers push past their bodies and continue digging. Our focus this week coincided with a fire tragedy in the middle of Johannesburg that has seen more than 70 people burnt to death and countless others injured, exposing the rot in the centre of what’s still a beloved city. Take a read of Sheree’s package and some amazing images from our photographer, Delwyn Verasamy, who, keeping true to his word, has tried to best protect the men who let them into a glimpse of their everyday, dystopian life. It’s simply excellent journalism that you won’t find anywhere else. Ron Derby | Editor-in-Chief [@Ronderby]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The Mail & Guardian hosted it’s flagship Power of Women event on Thursday where it honoured 50 women across different categories for accelerating equality & empowerment in women. View these 50 amazing women’s profiles [here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [zama zama4 (1)]( Premium [Illegal mining: Roodepoort residents ‘prisoners’ of zama zama turf wars]( The displacement of illegal artisanal mining gangs by the police causes the miners to flee to other areas, resulting in violent turf wars that spill over into neighbouring areas [// Read more]( [illegal miners 4]( Premium [Illegal mining: ‘The gold is there, people are hungry and mines are closed’]( The informal economy around zama zama mining has replaced that of large-scale mining companies that have abandoned or closed their mines [// Read more]( [Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane was Free State MEC for agriculture when the Estina dairy farm and Gupta wedding deal went down.]( [Estina trial date set for August next year]( As in the Nulane case, the prosecution alleges that the now fugitive Gupta brothers conspired with the accused to fleece the Free State [// Read more]( Recommended Reads Premium [Illegal mining: High risks to environment, infrastructure]( The effect of illegal mining includes sabotaged pipelines that contaminate the environment, illegal water usage, sinkholes, underground fires and explosions [// Read more]( [Illegal mining: Jobs are scarce, says artisanal miner]( They scour mine dumps on the West Rand for gold [// Read more]( [Editorial: Open commission of inquiry into Johannesburg inferno]( At least 73 people have died and scores injured when the building they lived in burnt down [// Read more]( [Joburg building engulfed by fire, killing 74, was a ‘hijacked’ shelter for women and children]( The fire that gutted the building might have been caused by illegal electricity connections, officials said [// Read more]( [Stories of hope, horror from Joburg’s inner city]( Book written to draw attention to the area’s decay is part memoir, part photo album [// Read more]( Pic of the day [zama zama 3] Illegal miners say they earn on average R800 to R1 000 a day, which they split between themselves. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa