This is according to the Minerals Council South Africa, which says illegal mining takes place at both abandoned and operating mines, with miners often working in extremely dangerous conditions.

The council says the growth of illegal mining is being driven by South Africa’s difficult socio-economic climate and the limited resources available to police, immigration officials, border control, and prosecuting authorities.

Many thousands of people are estimated to be involved in illegal mining, directly and indirectly. Illegal miners often enter abandoned shafts and travel as far as four kilometres underground, where they may stay for several days at a time.

According to the Council, illegal mining and organised crime are closely linked. In many cases, illegal mining is driven by globally connected criminal syndicates. Zama zamas are often heavily armed, use explosives, and set ambushes and booby traps for mine employees, security personnel, and rival groups.

The activity carries heavy social and financial costs. It results in lost revenue, taxes, employment opportunities, exports, foreign exchange earnings, procurement, and capital expenditure. Illegal mining activity poses a threat to the environment due to the use of harmful chemicals such as cyanide, and it threatens the sustainability of the mining industry.

The illicit mining sector is also a source of broader industrial crime that incentivises the stealing of explosives, diesel, copper cables, and other equipment.

The social damage caused by illicit mining is an often-overlooked consequence of its expansion. Operating outside of the authority of the state, the industry lends itself to prostitution, child labour, substance abuse, and informal syndicate markets supplying food, liquor, and other goods.

According to the Council, illicit mining operates through a well-managed five-tier syndicate system:

• •At the bottom are underground workers;
• •Above them are surface buyers who organise miners and provide food, protection, and equipment;
• •Regional bulk buyers then purchase the product;
• •These are followed by national and international distributors using front companies or legitimate exporters; and
• •At the top are international receivers and distributors, often linked to refineries and intermediary firms.

Mining and law enforcement experts say no single stakeholder can address the problem alone. They argue that combatting illegal mining must focus on both the supply and demand sides of it, and that collaboration between the industry, police, prosecutors, regulators, intelligence structures, and international bodies is essential.