Zama Zamas: The Deep Abuses of South Africa’s Illegal Mining Industry

Uncover the dark reality of South Africa's abandoned gold mines, once the world's largest producers. Explore the perilous world of "Zama Zamas," illegal miners, and the alarming impact on communities. Watch now!

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[natsienat]

I live in South Africa and I live very near to the mine dumps in my area. . I can tell you horror stories about what happens at the squatter camp that they live in near these mine dumps. Some days we hear gun shots every night when they are fighting with each other or the other residents of the camp. Some nights are quiet. We've heard some explosions coming from that area when they use dynamite or other chemicals to blast underground. Sometimes when things are really bad we get warnings that residents need to stay away from that area and to not use roads around that area until the police have secured the area. A major electrical substation in my area is starting to sink into the ground because the ground has become unstable from all of their digging. Unless someone lives here in my country they will have no true idea of the destruction that these people cause

[bannankev]

the music is so off lately. Sometimes it’s loud and confusing for what’s being covered, other times it is so quite its not noticeable. Or we get like around 5:00 a techno tribute why things on screen talk about Rape…. I mean who has done the music the last 2 weeks on this channel? It’s not been taken into effect. I see lots of comments about the music too. How can Simons team not? Please get a grip on what’s being covered and what music is SUITABLE FOR THE TOPIC. 💜

[kathryncumberland]

The background music has been way too loud lately. It's distracting and makes it hard to hear what Simon is saying. Please turn it down a notch. 😇

[KatherineJohansen-phhr]

Interesting how rhis makes it seem like the Zama Zamas are victims. But they are the aggressors towards those doing legal mining.

[helenduplessis]

These Zama Zamas are also responsible for a lot of crime in the areas that they operate in. They also enter mines that are closed / condemned. They cause shafts to cave in.

[MrDavebeemer]

Fellow South Africans so glad Simon covers these

[CrackerBarrelKid]

As a South African, I want to make crystal clear that the Zama-Zamas are not victims. I acknowledge they don't have access to proper jobs, and if they want to turn to a life of crime, do so in your own country. Don't come into South Africa illegally, and harass and threaten South African communities. Half of our own youth are unemployed, SA certainly hasn't got jobs for the entire African continent. We are on the brink of total economic collapse ourself

[weirdandwack]

As a south African, The moment I saw Zama Zama, I came running

[COBALTCOVERT]

Could use some better sound mixing, but otherwise, the videos are as good as usual.

[robynpicknell]

Lesotho is pronounced "Le- soo- too". The "h" is Lesotho is silent and not pronounced.

[MPKhalishwayo]

I work in one of the areas where they operate. The people guiding them in those operations are so heavily armed with illegal firearms that every police officer in the area is scared to go into their "territory".

They may present themselves as the victims, but they are not.

[chadp]

Why is the background music so loud lately. It's really hard to enjoy the videos like this

[rogerbartlet]

This sounds like a great premise for a Discovery Channel show

[JoshuaGold]

South Africa is truly a country on the brink of collapse. I wonder what could have caused this?

[vipbaepsae]

Music too loud, can barely understand the video

[SohailSomwaru]

Southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia 🇳🇦, South Africa 🇿🇦, Eswatini 🇸🇿 and Lesotho 🇱🇸) are the 🐐’s of Gold/Diamonds distribution in the World 🌍

[ultrshot]

If anyone wants to see this as a news story done by a brilliant South African news station, go watch the story carte blance did on this. It's on youtube too. They were chased away by armed zama zamas. Also, they are slowly putting the whole infrastructure of the city of Johannesburg in danger of collapse.

[tinyiko]

I remember we used to hear digging underneath our house, you would hear voices coming underground and the government dismissed our complaints as Soweto residents for years. Now we experience earthquakes/tremours almost every month in Johannesburg 😢

[georgevcelar]

South African here: zama zama's are only the tip of the iceberg; the problem goes all the way to the top and foreign governments.

[cludbrak]

Im a South African and geologist, and thisbis not quite true. Poverty does drive this illegal industry but has also been going for tens of years. The mines are often not abondones in some cases either.
Please do more research.