One of South Africa’s oldest towns under siege
Rustenburg, one of South Africa’s oldest towns, is facing a growing illegal mining crisis, with zama zamas operating around mines, closed shafts and other vulnerable areas.
Located at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range in the North West, Rustenburg is about 110 kilometres west of Pretoria and 140 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg.
The town was officially proclaimed a settlement in 1851, making it the third-oldest town north of the Vaal River.
In an interview with Kaya Biz, Rustenburg Executive Mayor Sheila Mabale-Huma warned that illegal mining has become a serious and growing problem in the municipality.
Her comments followed the deaths of 14 people underground and the hospitalisation of three others in a recent incident linked to illegal mining. “Illegal mining is rife in Rustenburg,” she said.
Rustenburg is surrounded by numerous mining operations, while some shafts have been closed as formal mining activities have declined or changed.
According to Mabale-Huma, these abandoned and closed areas have increasingly become vulnerable to illegal mining.
The activity is largely carried out by informal miners known as zama zamas, a term derived from a Zulu phrase meaning “to try your luck”.
However, the mayor’s comments also highlight concerns that illegal mining may extend beyond individual miners searching for valuable minerals.
Illegal mining has become a major economic and security problem in South Africa, with the government previously estimating that illegal mining and associated criminal activities cost the economy tens of billions of rand each year.
The activity also results in lost tax and royalty revenue, damage to infrastructure, and significant security costs for mining companies.
Illegal underground operations can also threaten roads, railways, pipelines, schools and homes when tunnels are excavated beneath or near critical infrastructure.
Despite the scale of the problem, Mabale-Huma stressed that the municipality does not have the legal mandate to directly deal with illegal miners.
Responsibility falls primarily on provincial and national authorities, including the South African Police Service and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
Immediate intervention needed
She said stronger cooperation between government departments, law enforcement agencies and the private sector was urgently needed.
“What can be done immediately is the collaboration between all sectors of government, including the private sector,” she said.
The mayor specifically called for greater monitoring of closed mine shafts, arguing that mine security and police should work together while proposed changes to mining legislation are being considered.
The latest deaths have also raised questions about how illegal miners were able to access an area that was reportedly secured.
Mabale-Huma said security personnel were operating around the clock and that surveillance included cameras and drones.
“There are mine police stationed at the location 24/7. What needs to happen is an investigation: now you are having mine police, why didn’t they detect this? What went wrong?”
She said a detailed investigation was needed to establish how the miners gained access, whether others remained underground and whether security systems failed.
At the same time, Mabale-Huma acknowledged that authorities currently lack clear intelligence identifying the syndicates allegedly behind illegal mining in the Rustenburg area.
“Currently, we don’t have intelligence that will be able to say, these are the identified syndicates, and this is how we are going to deal with it,” she said.
She called on intelligence structures to identify those organising and facilitating the illegal operations.
The mayor said proposed amendments to South Africa’s mining laws could eventually strengthen the government’s response, but stressed that immediate cooperation between law enforcement, mining companies and government was also necessary.
Rustenburg and Zama zamas – photos
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