Dr Jonathan Mark Hoskins teaches Political Philosophy and South African Politics. Picture: Supplied.
By Dr Jonathan Mark Hoskins
Are zama zamas simply foreign criminals stealing South African gold, deserving only of being "smoked out"? Or are they dehumanised labourers exploited by mining kingpins under the banner of "illicit mining activity," only to be further vilified by the South African state?
"We'll smoke them out." – Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, Minister in the Presidency.
This statement was made during the Vala Umgodi (“Close the Hole”) operation, a government-led initiative to force zama zama miners out of the Buffelsfontein Mine. Trapped underground for months, these miners had their supply routes severed by the police and military. The outcome was catastrophic — 87 miners reportedly perished, with estimates suggesting between 1,200 and 4,500 workers remained underground.
“…give licenses to [the illegal miners]…to steal gold. Mozambicans, Zimbabweans, and Lesotho nationals. It’s a criminal activity. It’s an attack on our economy by foreign nationals in the main.” – Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
Mantashe’s remarks framed zama zamas as foreign criminals whose activities constitute an economic assault on South Africa. But is this version accurate, or does it obscure deeper systemic issues?
The statements by these two ministers illustrate the contempt that they hold for these desperate human beings.
The Buffelsfontein Mine, established in 1949 and later absorbed into the General Mining stable, reportedly ceased gold production 30 years ago. It officially shut down in 2013 and was demolished in 2014. Despite this, the mine still contains an estimated 11.8 million ounces of gold, worth approximately $30 billion at current prices. Extracting this gold legally requires substantial capital investment, making deep-level mining unfeasible under formal structures.
The real question is: how did the zama zama phenomenon emerge? Are these miners truly criminal threats to the South African economy, as Mantashe suggests? Or does their existence reveal a much deeper issue rooted in economic desperation and systematic exploitation?
The zama zama phenomenon is not merely an issue of financial instability - it is the latest manifestation of a 136-year-old system of exploitative labour dating back to the mineral discoveries of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1886.
The South African economy, built initially on British colonial capitalism, remains deeply entrenched in capitalist structures. For capital to accumulate, labour - both legal and illegal - is crucial. The zama zama is a modern incarnation of this labour, operating outside legal frameworks but still serving the same purpose: extracting value for profit.
Unlike legally employed miners, zama zamas lack protection from labour laws, unions, and health and safety regulations. Their vulnerability makes them easy targets for extreme exploitation by mining kingpins, who profit immensely from their work. Capital accumulation is impossible without labour, whether in formal or illicit mining. No zama-zamas, no gold - just as no formal wage labourers, no Tesla cars, or Pepkor clothing.
Zama zamas endure some of the most dehumanising and dangerous working conditions imaginable:
Lack of Protections: Unlike legally employed workers, they have no recourse under labour laws or access to unions.
Extreme Working Conditions: Working in abandoned mines means facing rockfalls, flooding, suffocating humidity, poisonous gases like carbon monoxide and methane, and temperatures exceeding 40°C.
Violence and Syndicates: These mines are controlled by heavily armed gangs backed by powerful syndicates who engage in brutal territorial battles.
Excessive Exploitation: The profit extracted from zama zamas is disproportionately high, as they receive minimal compensation for their labour while mining kingpins reap enormous financial rewards.
Most zama zamas come from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Lesotho. They flee poverty and unemployment in their home countries, hoping to earn enough to support their families.
The South African government’s approach - “smoking out” miners and branding them as criminals - fails to address the root causes of the crisis. Instead, it exacerbates their suffering, reducing them to obstacles in the state’s pursuit of control over mining resources.
Zama zamas are not simply criminals stealing South African gold; they are victims of an exploitative system that has persisted for over a century. They exist in a space where the logic of capitalism continues to demand cheap labour - legal or illegal, protected or unprotected. Their lived reality is extreme hardship, exploited for profit yet vilified by the state.
To conclude, “smoking them out” and branding these impoverished Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Mosotho nationals as “criminals stealing South African gold” within the context of the South African state’s Vala Umgodi/Close the Hole strategy, is a crass exercise in the dehumanisation of desperate human beings. Staring abject poverty and starvation in the face, these "foreign nationals" became zama zamas - a uniquely constructed labourer within the spatio-temporality of “illicit economic activity,” their labour power resolutely exploited under atrocious conditions for profit by the mining kingpins. This is the fate of the zama zamas - a creation of capital in its “illicit mining activity” form. Exploited by mining kingpins and vilified by the state.
* Hoskins teaches Political Philosophy and South African Politics. His research focuses on the socio-economic construction of race, black economic empowerment, and developmental state theories. He holds BA, B Proc, LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the Western Cape.
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