Calls are growing for the legalisation of artisanal mining by communities around mining towns
On Wednesday, civil group Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) held a coordinated march across five provinces to the Department of Mineral Resources' offices.
They submitted their inputs to the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill.
Among other things, the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill aims to formalise artisanal and small-scale mining through a licensing regime.
MACUA believes formalising artisanal mining will assist many people living near mining towns.
The group's Sabelo Mnguni said, "When it comes to mining, once mining ceases to operate, we are left without an economy, and the only economy in the community is mining, whether formal or informal. So in the absence of formal employment, the informal economy becomes the order of the day, which includes mining, and informal mining becomes the order of the day.'
Mnguni said the formalisation of artisanal mining will also assist in dealing with illegal mining and its accompanied dangers.
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Eyewitness News
19 hours ago
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Calls are growing for the legalisation of artisanal mining by communities around mining towns
JOHANNESBURG - There are growing calls for the legalisation of artisanal mining by communities living in and around mining towns. On Wednesday, civil group Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) held a coordinated march across five provinces to the Department of Mineral Resources' offices. They submitted their inputs to the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill. Among other things, the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill aims to formalise artisanal and small-scale mining through a licensing regime. MACUA believes formalising artisanal mining will assist many people living near mining towns. The group's Sabelo Mnguni said, "When it comes to mining, once mining ceases to operate, we are left without an economy, and the only economy in the community is mining, whether formal or informal. So in the absence of formal employment, the informal economy becomes the order of the day, which includes mining, and informal mining becomes the order of the day.' Mnguni said the formalisation of artisanal mining will also assist in dealing with illegal mining and its accompanied dangers.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Communities rally against the Draft Mineral Resources Development Bill, fearing increased marginalisation
The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) says the proposed draft Mineral Resources Development Bill, 2025, betrays the transformation objectives fought for during the liberation Struggle. Image: Supplied As South Africa is preparing to commemorate the Marikana Massacre, the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua), says communities are still excluded from crucial decision-making related to mining and its impact on their lives, and that the proposed draft Mineral Resources Development Bill, 2025, would further perpetuate the assault. This exclusion perpetuates a cycle of marginalisation and inequality, where communities bear the brunt of mining's negative impacts without benefiting from the resources extracted from their land. The Draft Bill was published for public comment on May 20, 2025, with a submission deadline of August 13, 2025. The Bill aims to ensure policy and regulatory certainty, enhance investor confidence, reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies, and improve turnaround times for mining rights, permits, and regulatory approvals, as well as formally recognise artisanal mining and advance transformation in the mining sector. However, Macua said the Bill, as currently drafted, betrayed the transformation objectives fought for during the liberation Struggle. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The organisation said instead of advancing democratic participation and justice, the amendments entrench the power of mining companies and marginalise the voices of communities. Macua, which is expected to make a submission today (August 13), added that Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe and his department are failing in their constitutional duty to ensure meaningful consultation, participation, and protection for communities directly affected by extractive activities. 'We refuse to be treated as spectators to decisions that determine the fate of our land, our water, our health, and our economic sovereignty,' stated the organisation. The department on Monday said it was working on a response. Spokesperson Johannes Makobane on Tuesday said a response was going through internal processes. Macua spokesperson Tholakele Thabane said submissions would be made in five provincial offices of the Mineral and Resources. The provinces include Pretoria (Gauteng), Klerksdorp (North West), Emalahleni (Mpumalanga), Polokwane (Limpopo), and Welkom in the Free State. 'This submission and our collective resistance take place on the 13th anniversary of the Marikana Massacre, when 34 mineworkers were gunned down for demanding a living wage. It also comes just eight months after the state engineered the mass starvation and abandonment of over 100 artisanal mineworkers in Stilfontein, whose lives were treated as disposable,' said Thabane, who added that these moments are not isolated incidents, and that they are part of a broader pattern of the state-backed violence, neglect, and the criminalisation of poor, black mining communities. South Africa will commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Marikana Massacre on August 13, 2025. The tragedy happened at the Lonmin Platinum Mine in Marikana, North West, on August 16, 2012. The event, which involved a police shooting during a strike, resulted in the deaths of 34 miners and injuries to many more. By physically delivering its submissions to the Mineral and Petroleum offices, Macua said it is making it clear that it refuses to be sidelined, ignored, or tokenised. The organisation stated that this action is a collective refusal to accept the ongoing exploitation, marginalisation, and environmental destruction that the proposed Bill threatens to worsen. 'This is not just a symbolic gesture; this is a necessary act of resistance. It is a direct and deliberate intervention by communities to assert our constitutional rights to be heard, to be consulted, and to influence the laws that govern our land and resources. 'We are not merely stakeholders; we are the rightful custodians of the land, and our voices must shape the policies that impact our lives,' said Thabane. The organisation said the Bill also fails to reflect the lived realities of mining-affected communities and was compiled without genuine community participation, adding that it goes directly against the recommendations of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which has repeatedly called for the full legal recognition of mining-affected communities and for mechanisms that guarantee community ownership, benefit-sharing, and protection from exploitation. 'Far from advancing transformation, the Bill removes critical protections and omits key obligations that previously existed, such as the requirement for community ownership under the Mining Charter. This exclusion, among others, strips communities of their economic agency and ensures they are left poorer and more vulnerable, while mining companies are further empowered,' said Thabane. He added that the Bill also fails to establish artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) as a viable and legitimate economic pathway for communities, and will continue with the criminalisation of artisanal miners, enabling state and police violence through laws that mirror operations like Vala Umgodi.
The Citizen
6 days ago
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Illegal miner says he will keep digging to survive
After escaping a police raid, an illegal miner says hunger and joblessness leave him no choice but to keep mining. A South African-born illegal miner, one of those who evaded arrest during a recent raid at Sheba mine in Barberton, has vowed to continue because he is unemployed. More than 500 of his fellow illegal miners were arrested in the past few days and have been appearing in court since Monday. The Swazi-speaking artisanal miner, who requested anonymity, said he was a Barberton resident who used to work for local mines. Barberton miner refuses to stop illegal mining 'We are unemployed while we are surrounded by mines, so if someone offers us jobs, we agree because then we will be able to put food on the table. 'To show that the government and the mining firms are failing us, we extracted minerals from the places where they claim there are not enough minerals. 'Most of our people here in Barberton are unemployed, while we have mining operations in the area,' he said. ALSO READ: Number of miners still underground in Sheba unknown Several organisations fighting for the rights of the mining-affected communities are calling on the authorities to legalise small-scale artisanal mining to create jobs. Nolwazi Serero, of the Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Council, said there was hope that the government would, in the near future, formalise artisanal smallscale mining. The department of mineral resources and energy has included a proposed licensing regime for it in its draft Mineral Resources Development Bill, 2025, she said. Large-scale industrial mining in decline Mining expert David van Wyk said since large-scale industrial mining was in decline, there was a need for the state to 'create favourable conditions for artisanal, small- and medium-scale mining and facilitate community-based industries to add value to the diamonds, gold and platinum they extract, such as cottage jewellery manufacturing for example'. Serero said the Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Council was trying to compel the government to legalise and regulate artisanal small-scale mining to benefit communities. 'Areas where illegal mining activities take place should be declared zones for artisanal gold miners.' ALSO READ: Groups warn against heavy-handed raids in tackling illegal miners If this was done, artisanal miners would not operate illegally on large-scale miners' unused territory or abandoned mines that are derelict. It would also enable current informal operations to be formalised and permits to be issued, she said.
