A desperate bid to survive has turned a cattle kraal in Payneville, Springs on the East Rand into the site of an informal gold rush, as unemployed residents dig up soil in the hope of finding enough gold particles to buy food.
Zoleka, an unemployed single mother from Gugulethu section, says she managed to feed her children after digging up just two buckets of soil believed to contain traces of gold.
“From just two buckets of soil I have been able to make money which I have used to buy groceries for my children and other basic needs in the house. I am an unemployed single mother, so when the opportunity presented itself, I rushed here to dig like everyone else,” she said.
She is one of dozens of residents who have flocked to the site since early last week, after word spread that someone had allegedly found about 7g of gold in the area.
Zama zamas called in to “help”
Many of the locals admit they have no idea what to look for in the soil and rely on zama zamas – illegal miners – to identify and extract possible gold.
“Many of us dig and don’t know what we are looking for, so we ask zama zamas to help with sifting the soil. They know how to extract gold from the soil. Their services cost R100,” Zoleka explained.
Armed with shovels, groups of men and women have been arriving daily to dig, working largely under the radar of law enforcement.
Most of the fortune‑seekers are unemployed foreign nationals, drawn by rumours of quick cash in the sandy ground.
Kraal turned into pay‑to‑dig site
The land on which the digging is taking place belongs to the City of Ekurhuleni, but is used by local farmers to house their cattle.
Those managing the kraal initially responded to the influx by putting up a makeshift fence and charging people R20 to dig. As crowds grew, the fee was increased to R50.
Nosiphelele Mgijimi, who says she is one of the kraal’s owners, told Sowetan the frenzy began last Tuesday when groups of zama zamas started digging without permission.
“When we asked them what they were doing, they told us they saw gold. A lot of people started coming in overwhelming numbers,” she said.
“We then came up with the idea of charging them R50 as a fee to allow them to dig in our kraal. But we couldn’t control the influx … some of them even damaged the fence. We are not even safe since this whole thing started.”
Mgijimi said she and her partners own more than 300 cattle that were originally kept at the kraal. They have been operating there, on municipal land, since 2018, and rely on the herd to support their families.
City and EMPD move in
Phakamile Mbengashe, spokesperson for the City of Ekurhuleni, said the municipality is aware of the situation and has deployed the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) to monitor the area for public safety. The matter has also been escalated to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for intervention.
“The city has been aware of this situation since Tuesday, after receiving a notice about someone who apparently found what is alleged to be a 7g of gold. What then happened is a gold rush to the area. This operation is illegal … and the Ekurhuleni metro police are monitoring the situation for public safety,” Mbengashe said.
The scramble comes just days after President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his State of the Nation Address, announced that government would deploy soldiers to deal with illegal mining in Gauteng.
‘Gold below the surface is not yours’
Mining and environmental lawyer Hulme Scholes, director at Malan Scholes Inc, told Sowetan that the digging is clearly unlawful.
“To mine, one needs to obtain a mining licence. If people are digging for gold without a mining right or a mining permit, it is illegal. A landowner does not own the gold below the surface even if he owns the land,” he explained.
Scholes added that gold seldom appears on the surface in the way many residents might imagine.
“Gold does not usually outcrop on the surface and is normally found in ‘bands’ which are deep, ranging from 2,000m or deeper,” he said.
Despite the legal and safety risks, the sight of unemployed residents and foreign nationals digging side by side, paying zama zamas and kraal owners in the hope of finding a few grams of gold, underlines the depth of poverty and desperation driving the Payneville rush.
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