The plight of the Zama Zamas: Hunting for gold in South Africa …
South Africa has built a burgeoning national economy on its gold mining trade over the past few decades, but for the "Zama Zamas", hunting for the precious mineral is a process just as synonymous with peril as profit.
The devastating impact of Gold Mining in South Africa
For 130 years South Africa has been exploiting its gold resources in Johannesburg. But at what cost? 278 abandoned mines and 200 mining dumps, that contain a...
The location of the studied abandoned mines in the Giyani …
Abandoned gold mine sites are generally characterised by severe environmental problems and physical hazards. Because of socio-economic problems confronting communities around abandoned mine sites ...
South Africa's gold mining legacy | In Pictures …
Johannesburg, South Africa – "This mine is a silent killer," said Tiny Dlamini at Snake Park in Soweto, pointing at Johannesburg's largest abandoned gold mine dump that looms over the ...
South Africa, gold mines continue poisoning communities
Gold mines, even abandoned ones, are still poisoning thousands of people in South Africa due to high concentrations of heavy metals, radiation and contaminated water.
Physicochemical properties, heavy metals, and …
In the present study, we investigated physicochemical properties and six HM (Pb, Ni, Zn, Cr, Cd, and Co) in abandoned gold mine tailings dams and adjacent soils in Krugersdorp, South Africa.
The Haunting Legacy of South Africa's Gold Mines
Thousands of abandoned gold mines are scattered across South Africa, polluting the water with toxics and filling the air with noxious dust. For the millions of …
Impact of Illegal Mining at Historic Gold Mine …
is host to numerous abandoned gold mines and artisanal workers that focus mainly on ... (Figure modified after: A) Geological Society of South Africa and B) Ward et al., 1998).
Challenges and strategies of abandoned mine rehabilitation in South
Semantic Scholar extracted view of "Challenges and strategies of abandoned mine rehabilitation in South Africa: The case of asbestos mine rehabilitation" by H. Cornelissen et al.
The Wake of South Africa's Abandoned Gold …
An alarming 5,906 abandoned mines across South Africa were reported by the Auditor General. Many of which are Gold Mines and specifically in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.
Gold Mine tours
Johannesburg private gold mine tours - historical gold shafts to South Africa's current mine operations - 130 years of Johannesburg's mining.
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in …
In South Africa recycling or reworking of gold bearing ore in abandoned commercial mines is a growing practice. The extraction of residual gold ore from the …
The Haunting Legacy of South Africa's Gold Mines
The name Witwatersrand, literally "White Water Ridge" in Afrikaans, isubiquitous in South Africa. The namesake ridge, often called the Rand,passes through Johannesburg. This highly erosion- resistant quartziteridge forms the north side of the Witwatersrand goldfields, a300-kilometer-wide ancient sedimentary basin con…
Collapse of the Free State Goldfields, South Africa: lessons …
Large-scale gold extraction in South Africa started in the Free State Goldfields (FSG, now in Matjhabeng Local Municipality, Free State Province) after World War II. Forty years of gold-mining operations led Welkom, the main town created around the FSG mining operations, to become the second-largest urban area in the Free State.
Dangerous Economy Thrives in South Africa's Abandoned Gold Mines
Tens of thousands of illegal gold diggers sneak into old mines, risking personal harm and posing a financial threat to the mining industry.
South Africa: Gold mine pollution is poisoning Soweto's …
South Africa: Gold mine pollution is poisoning Soweto's water and soil—study finds food gardens are at risk May 24 2024, by Lesego Khomo For 140 years, gold mines in Johannesburg, South Africa ...
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in abandoned gold mines …
Since gold mining commenced on the Wit-watersrand in 1887, a total of approximately 4,5 billion tons of gold ore has been milled in South Africa. The deposition of gold mine residues has left the ...
Basotho Mineworkers and zama zama in Disused Commercial Gold Mines …
As a result, zama zamas occupy these disused, abandoned gold mines to scavenge gold ore. In South Africa, the past few years have witnessed an increasingly critical debate about the treatment by authorities of zama zama mining as simply illegal, and even criminal.
Inferred Historic Gold Mining Approaches, Giyani …
Inferred Historic Gold Mining Approaches Steenkamp and Clark-Mostert 1 ... Johannesburg, 2107, South Africa Abstract A review of abandoned small scale mines, situated on the Giyani (Sutherland ...
Exploring strategies for management of disasters associated …
The second section explores the literature surrounding abandoned mines and illegal gold mining by looking at the global cases in relation to South Africa, global challenges in mine disaster preparedness and regulatory framework in South Africa and communication in relation to disaster management.
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in abandoned gold mines …
ABSTRACT This paper examines unregulated gold-mining activities prevalent at disused mines and decommissioned shafts at operating mines in post-apartheid South Africa.
'Zama Zama' and leftovers: The recycling of ore in abandoned gold mines …
Despite government restrictions and security measures, unlicensed miners in South Africa, known as 'zama zamas', engage in scavenging, recycling, and reworking of leftover gold ore from abandoned mines.
Acid Mine Drainage from Gold Mining in South Africa
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a persistent by-product of present and past mining activity in South Africa and around the world. Both current and inactive or abandoned mines generate AMD from waste rock piles, mill tailings, open pits, shafts, and tunnels below the ground.
Physicochemical properties, heavy metals, and metal …
Physicochemical properties, heavy metals, and metal-tolerant bacteria profiles of abandoned gold mine tailings in Krugersdorp, South Africa. Canadian Journal of Soil Science . 100 (3): 217-233.
200 Trapped In Abandoned South African Gold Mine
More than 200 illegal miners near Johannesburg, South Africa, are reportedly trapped underground in an abandoned gold mine with rescuers working frantically to save them.
Challenges and strategies of abandoned mine rehabilitation in South …
By 1981, foreign companies had withdrawn from active asbestos mining in South Africa, and a long series of mergers and acquisitions had reduced the number of major producers to two which are the Griqualand Exploration & Finance Company (Gefco) and Msauli Asbes (Hart, 1988). The last asbestos mine in South Africa closed in 2001.
South African miners see gold in hills of waste
South Africa has some 6,500 abandoned mines, many with abandoned slag heaps. Each tonne of rock and dirt has about 0.3 grammes of gold, making the painstaking search profitable and much less ...
The dark face of South Africa's illegal mining | Nation
In July last year, eight young women were gang-raped in Krugersdorp during a video shoot on a supposedly abandoned mining site.
Development and use of hazard ranking system for abandoned mine …
The development and use of abandoned mines ranking systems that use basic information gathered from preliminary field assessment of the mine features are the sound bases for effective mine site rehabilitation for developing countries with large number of abandoned mine sites like South Africa and with limited resources to rehabilitate the ...
Gold mines, trash and memories: Soweto's urban …
Gold mines, trash and memories: Soweto's urban hikes Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) – Soweto is full of gritty urban landscapes and alleys which evoke its history as one of apartheid's battlegrounds.