At least 14 clandestine miners have been killed by a rock fall at an illegal mine northwest of Johannesburg, in one of the latest deadly incidents to hit South Africa's shadowy informal mining sector. According to the police, most of those who died were nationals of the neighbouring country of Lesotho, underscoring how the dangerous trade draws desperate workers from across the wider region. Several other miners were injured in the collapse, and there are fears that some may still be trapped underground.
Rescue and recovery efforts were continuing at the site, with security forces remaining at the scene, which police described as still active. Police spokeswoman Colonel Adel Mibber confirmed that officers were on the ground as the operation unfolded, with the number of people potentially still trapped below the surface not yet established. The uncertainty over how many miners were underground at the time of the collapse has added to the difficulty of the response.
The victims belong to the informal workforce known across South Africa as zama zamas, a term used for the thousands of unregistered miners who operate outside any legal framework. According to the police, these miners scavenge abandoned mines for gold and other minerals, working in arduous and often perilous conditions with no oversight. Their activity has become a persistent feature of the country's decaying industrial landscape, where disused shafts are repurposed for illicit digging.
The conditions in which the miners operate are extremely hazardous. They enter discarded mineshafts that are dilapidated and have no infrastructure or safety measures in place, exposing themselves to collapses, flooding and other dangers deep below ground. With the original mining operations long gone, there is nothing left to shore up the tunnels or protect those who venture into them, turning each descent into a serious gamble with their lives.
The people drawn into this work come from several countries across the region and are driven largely by poverty and unemployment, which push them toward one of the few sources of income available to them. Yet the sector is far from a simple story of hardship, as it has also been linked to organised crime, assassinations, extortion and other illegal activities. The combination of desperate labour and criminal networks has made illegal mining both deadly for the workers and difficult for the authorities to control.
The South African government has been trying to rein in the phenomenon. Back in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the army to support police efforts at combating illegal mining, which has contributed to significant infrastructure damage in some areas. Despite that intervention, the latest deaths northwest of Johannesburg highlight how entrenched and lethal the practice remains, and how far the state still is from bringing it under control.