FALSE: Illegal mining in South Africa is not done exclusively by illegal immigrants and foreigners

FALSE: Illegal mining in South Africa is not done exclusively by illegal immigrants and foreigners

Police arrest statistics and crime reports show that South African citizens actively participate in and profit from illegal mining alongside foreign nationals.

 

A post shared on X formerly Twitter claiming that illegal mining is done strictly by illegal immigrants and foreigners who are killing South Africans is FALSE.

 

The user claims that all illicit mining activity across South Africa is carried out by undocumented foreigners targeting local citizens.

 

Evidence:

 

TRT Afrika reports that illegal mining involves both foreign nationals and South African citizens, refuting the claim that it is conducted solely by immigrants.

 

Joint SAPS and SANDF operations under Operation Vala Umgodi routinely arrest South African nationals alongside foreign migrants for illegal mining, trespassing, and unlawful possession of firearms and explosives. Furthermore, research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) shows that frontline diggers sit at the bottom of a five-tier criminal hierarchy, with higher-level buyers, syndicate leaders, and mineral dealers frequently involving South African residents and business operators.

 

While the user's claim is strictly False because South African citizens are actively involved in the trade, there is an important nuance regarding the demographic make up of frontline laborers.

 

Foreign nationals from neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique do represent a large proportion of the frontline underground diggers (zama zamas).

 

Additionally, while the post frames violence as foreign nationals targeting South Africans, official reports show that the majority of fatalities stem from armed turf wars between rival criminal syndicates fighting over control of disused mining shafts, impacting foreign diggers and local residents alike.

Whicob News has looked into a claim posted on X (Formerly Twitter) claiming that illegal mining is done exclusively by illegal immigrants and foreigners and finds it to be FALSE.

This fact-check was produced by Whicob News / Farai Dziwanyika as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA) incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with Whicob News. Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/