Unregulated mining, wey many know as “artisinal mining”, dey happun wen companies abandon mines wey no dey profitable, leaving informal miners to extract leftover deposits.
According to UN organisation planetGOLD, between 10 million and 20 million miners for more dan 70 kontris globally dey work for artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Dis figure include up to five million women and children.
Di practice dey happun well-well for South Africa wia dem dey call pipo wey dey mine without permission “zama zamas”.
“Currently, for South Africa e get about 6,000 of wetin dem dey call disused, ownerless and derelict mines,” na wetin Kgothatso Nhlengetwa, one geologist and artisanal mining researcher tok.
“Out of those 6,000, we no know how many wey actually dey invaded by illegal miners.”
Di recent case of hundreds of zamas zamas wey authorities rescue from one disused gold mine for Stilfontein torchlight di dangers involved.
Di men dem wey dem rescue don lose weight well-well, dia bones bin show through dia clothes. Some no fit waka sef, medical staff na im help dem to waka.
For statements submitted to di high court, di illegal miners describe all di details of di slow and painful death of dia peers. Dem say many die of starvation.
Poor conditions
South Africa na home to some of di deepest mines in di world.
Illegal miners fit stay underground for months at a time inside serious heat, wit headlamps as dia only source of light.
Temperatures inside di mines fit reach up to 40C, increasing di risk of heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Wen di miners return overground to daylight, e fit take days for dia sight to adjust.
Hearing loss dey common becos of di constant noise of using tools to break through rocks.
Zama zamas tell BBC say di price of food for “markets” wey dey underground dey extremely high.
Geologist Kgothatso Nhlengetwa say usually, di Oga dem of di illegal miners for South Africa dey give dem food bifor dem go underground. But due to di high number of pipo, e no dey enough to go round.
Most times, di miners dey survive on “phuzamandla”, one nutrient-dense, fortified soup powder. AKA “drink strength”.
Health dangers
Nhlengetwa say one of di most serious risks to illegal miners na silicosis, one long-term lung disease wey breathing in large amounts of silica dust dey cause.
Silica na substance wey dem dey find naturally for certain types of stone, rock, sand and clay. As di miners break down rocks, e dey turn to very fine dust wey pesin fit easily breathe in.
For decommissioned mines, di ventilation systems no dey work again, e mean say more harmful substances like dis dey present for air.
Breathing in silica for long periods of time fit cause swelling and inflammation for pesin lungs, eventually e go lead to scarring.
Silicosis also dey increase di risk of tuberculosis.
Miners for sub-Saharan Africa get a greater incidence of TB dan any oda working population for di world, according to scientific studies.
Lung cancer and oda respiratory cancers, as well as stomach and liver cancer, dey more common among underground gold miners.
Widespread of HIV also dey high for mining communities.
Nhlengetwa say women sometimes dey go underground for months sake of sex work becos dem know say e go pay dem well.
Unprotected sex dey common becos of di difficulty of accessing condoms underground, leading to di higher rate of HIV.
Dis dey make am difficult for di body to fight off oda conditions becos di immune system dey suppressed.
Illegal mining fit also dey dangerous above ground. Dangerous chemicals like mercury and sodium cyanide na im dem dey use to “wash” di rocks wey dem bring up from underground to separate out di gold.
Mercury exposure fit lead to plenty health problems, like tremors, headaches and insomnia. High exposure fit even lead to kidney issues, respiratory failure and even death.
If pregnant women work above ground to process di rocks using mercury, e fit lead to birth defects for dia children.
Risks to mental health
Millicent Shungube from di South African National Association of Artisanal Miners (NAAM) say small-scale artisanal mining dey mentally taxing for miners.
“E dey very challenging to dey down dia, becos di koko of you going down dia to do artisanal mining na to provide for your family,” she tok.
“Those pipo na breadwinners, so e dey frustrating, to work in an environment wey no dey safe and wey no dey healthy, not knowing di outcome. Weda goment go punish me for doing dis?”.
Depression, significant anxiety and sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, appear for multiple studies on di mental health of mine workers.
Problems connected to poor sleep, like obesity, also dey very widely reported. Study findings suggest say di group wey mostly dey at risk na young mine workers.
Vitamin D deficiency wey lack of sunlight dey cause fit also lead to mental health problems as e dey connected to receptors for di brain wey dey regulate pesin mood.
Shungube say di families of gold miners also dey struggle wit di long periods of separation.
“E dey affect dem becos dem dey always live in fear and always dey wonder, ‘weda my family member go come back?'”, she tok.
Risk of accidents
Di risk of death and injury from rock falls dey more likely to happun for illicit mines becos most times, dem no use timber to stabilise am like dem go do wit industrial mines.
Kgothatso Nhlengetwa also torchlight di real risk of falling wen pesin dey go down into a disused mine.
“No be say dem dey use lift or something to go underground, all dem dey use really na rope wey dey attached to, or dem go nail am into di side face, and den, dem go use di rope to go underground, and I mean dem dey go kilometres underground,” she tok.
Unlike regulated mining wey dey use methane and CO2 detectors, nothing dey to warn illegal miners of di presence of dis dangerous gas dem, wey even a tiny spark fit cause explosion.
Shungube say di recent standoff for Stilfontein torchlight di need for more regulation.
“If only di sector dey formalised becos we don dey approach di goment since and we dey ask dem to formalise di sector, legalise di sector so we fit follow di regulations and work under healthy and safe conditions.
None of di mess wey happun for Stilfontein for take place.”