Sinkholes, scarred land and scapegoats: the scourge of illegal gold mining in Johannesburg
- Cora Bailey has been encountering illegal miners ever since she first started treating injured animals in the townships around Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, in 1991.
- But as the price of gold has soared, so too has activity in the abandoned mine shafts that mark the area.
- In late September, dozens of zama zamas – the name given to illegal miners in South Africa, meaning roughly “to take a chance” in Zulu – arrived to dig for gold across the dirt road from her charity, Claw (Community Led Animal Welfare).
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- Cora Bailey has been encountering illegal miners ever since she first started treating injured animals in the townships around Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, in 1991.
- But as the price of gold has soared, so too has activity in the abandoned mine shafts that mark the area.
- In late September, dozens of zama zamas – the name given to illegal miners in South Africa, meaning roughly “to take a chance” in Zulu – arrived to dig for gold across the dirt road from her charity, Claw (Community Led Animal Welfare).
Sources: Guardian