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Spike in illegal gold mining alongside Blyde River devastates ecosystems and threatens social order
The consequences of this unfolding tragedy are many, with its swirling currents flowing from global markets to transnational organised crime networks preying on the poverty of young men who scrounge for gold. One upshot is critical water systems fouled by a toxic combination of sediment and chemicals.
Last year, Dr Francois Roux detected something unsettling in the Blyde River. An aquatic scientist with the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Association (MTPA), Roux has been studying Lowveld large-scale and Bushveld small-scale yellowfish for more than 20 years.
But last year, for the first time, Roux found that both species had failed to spawn — an ecological shock linked to a surge of illegal gold mining in the area as zama zamas and their bosses scramble to cash in on record prices.
'It's a monstrous thing, and it happened where we thought it would never happen,' said Roux.
Sediment stirred up by an estimated 2,000 zama zamas has smothered the eggs of the yellowfish, which have become aquatic versions of the canary in a coal mine, their fate a stark warning of what may befall ecosystems downstream, including in the Kruger National Park, and the water that supplies towns and provides irrigation for the area's burgeoning citrus industry.
The Unesco-affiliated Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region has detected a surge in zama zama activities over the past couple of years alongside the Blyde River, near Pilgrim's Rest — a town with a deep vein of gold mining history.
'An aerial survey conducted on the 28th August 2024 detected over 50 active illegal mining sites along the river and its tributaries (above the dam), in contrast to less than 10 found by a similar aerial survey in October 2022,' says a recent technical briefing note by Kruger to Canyons and the South African Environmental Network.
MTPA spokesperson Simphiwe Shungube said the agency had identified and GPS-located illegal mining sites across the Blyde catchment and near Pilgrim's Rest twice in the past three years.
'The illegal mining activities around Pilgrim's Rest have been addressed by the SAPS on several occasions over the last two years,' Shungube told Daily Maverick.
The consequences of this unfolding tragedy are many, with its swirling currents flowing from global markets to transnational organised crime networks preying on the poverty of young men who scrounge for gold. One upshot is critical water systems fouled by a toxic combination of sediment and chemicals.
The MTPA, which, together with the SAPS, has taken action against zama zamas since 2017, acknowledged that illegal mining had negatively affected the biodiversity of the area, including the fish populations in the river and the dam. It also noted an increase in alien vegetation around the illegal mining sites within the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve and worsening water quality.
'Water quality is being impacted due to the situation, with an increase in the E. coli and total coliforms … tested in the Blyderivierspoort Dam,' it said in an emailed response to Daily Maverick queries.
There are also suspicions that the illegal miners are using cyanide and mercury.
'Toxic chemicals, including cyanide, are reportedly used in open ponds alongside the river, where the risk of contamination is high,' said Kruger to Canyon. 'In addition, the social impact of an estimated 2,000 zama zamas settling in nearby communities is significant and growing.'
The Department of Water and Sanitation said that its monitoring had not detected cyanide and mercury in the water — yet.
Watch video of illegal mining in Pilgrim's Rest here
Ruined riffles
Ruined riffles — shallow, fast-flowing sections of the river where the water surface is broken by rocks and gravel — are among the red flags.
'The yellowfish eggs are laid in the riffles, but the riffles are now smothered with silt,' said Roux. 'So these eggs can't develop because they are deprived of oxygen. The riffles are the lungs of a river. But these riffles are no longer riffles because they are filled with sediment.
'The zamas work next to the rivers, and they work with sediments, and these sediments are then loosened into the river, and it is red-brown at present because of the washing of gold.'
Nicholas Theron, the senior programme manager at Kruger to Canyons, likened it to 'strip mining by hand'. The riffles Roux spoke about are upstream from the Blyde River dam, which is filling with sediment at an accelerating pace. Sediment has now filled 20% of the dam, according to the technical report cited above.
Kruger to Canyons has been monitoring this situation with growing alarm. If the sedimentation continues to accumulate at its current rate, the technical report said, 'The supply of bulk water downstream of the dam will soon become compromised. The dam currently supports an irrigation scheme for over 8,000 ha of citrus and other crops, as well as the town of Hoedspruit and the SANDF Air Force Base Hoedspruit.
'This sediment does not just cloud the river — it settles in the dam, displacing millions of cubic metres of water and dramatically reducing its storage capacity during the critical dry season.'
Vala Umgodi operation
Joint enforcement efforts involving the MTPA, Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the SAPS and other government departments are under way to address illegal mining, with the MTPA undertaking targeted operations at sites identified as actively mined.
'Recognising the critical importance of these river systems … the department is actively engaged in enforcement actions in collaboration with other organs of state,' said DWS spokesperson Wisane Mavasa.
Daily Maverick asked for comment from the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources on 25 July about its role and interventions in the matter, but had received no response by the time of publication. Minister Gwede Mantashe usually says it is a police matter.
The SAPS, which has been active on the zama zama front in Mpumalanga recently, had not responded to our queries by the time of publication.
The Vala Umgodi operation against illegal mining launched last year by the SAPS — which stirred a hornets' nest with its 'surrender or starve' strategy during the Stilfontein siege — has rolled into Mpumalanga, focusing on the Barberton region, with mixed results.
In early August, almost 500 suspected illegal miners in the area were arrested in a joint operation between the gold producer Pan African Resources and the SAPS.
'Illegal mining has been rife in the Barberton area for a long time, and an increasing number of arrests have been made in the past year. Since September last year, some 4,000 arrests have been made,' said Pan African.
'It was evident that local police could not cope, and many of the illegal miners, mainly foreign nationals, were found to be repeat offenders. This culminated in [the] week-long operation at Sheba Mine, where mine security teams aided the national police's Vala Umgodi deployment.'
Illegal mining is a thorn in the side of all South African gold producers, and it is often mine security teams that do much of the work to curtail it, but they can only do so much, with most arrests linked to trespassing.
Those arrested often slip through the gaping mesh of state failure. Zama zamas target operational and defunct mines as well as deposits that have not yet been exploited.
Australian-listed Theta Gold Mines has a project in the Pilgrim's Rest/Blyde River area, but did not respond to Daily Maverick's queries about the zama zama issue.
Forestry companies in the area have flagged illegal mining as a concern.
JSE-listed York Timbers, which has plantations in the Blyde River area, cited illegal mining activities in its latest annual report as among the top 10 risks the company faced.
'Illegal mining activities on our properties are limiting access to key areas, causing damage to our plantations and equipment and devaluing our assets,' it said.
It also noted that the illegal mining endangered 'employees, contractors and local communities, disrupting livelihoods, damaging infrastructure, and contributing to increased crime in the area'.
Work stoppages and increased security costs are other challenges cited.
This underscores the mounting costs to businesses inflicted by the scourge of illegal mining, which are spreading across a wide canopy of sectors: mining, forestry, agriculture and tourism.
In a parallel stream is an ongoing ecological disaster. The ripples will have far-reaching consequences, and with gold's price not far off its record peak of $3,500 an ounce, the criminal syndicates have incentives galore to accelerate their plunder. DM
