There are thought to be at least 50 000 informal miners working underground in South Africa. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
While 9 000 delegates from across Africa were gathering in Cape Town to talk about investment opportunities at the annual Mining Indaba, another, less buttoned-up event in the city was discussing what to do about the crisis posed by artisanal and small-scale mining.
Environmental damage and poor worker health and safety in the sector have become a particularly urgent concern following the death of more than 100 informal miners in the tunnels of the abandoned Stilfontein mine in North West province.
In November last year, authorities launched a court-ordered operation to clamp down on illegal mining at a mine in Stilfontein by cutting off food supplies sent down by other members of the mining groups on the ground to those working in the mine’s tunnels.
