ERMELO – Miners at old mine shafts in and around Ermelo prefer to be called artisanal miners, and not zama zamas.

According to some of them, they are in the process of formalising themselves and do not want to be associated with the stigma attached to the name “Zama Zamas”.

The term “zama zamas”, which in Zulu means “try try” is usually used to describe illegal miners.

Commonly, “zama zamas” in South-Africa are associated with violence and criminality.

However, according to these miners, they are the exception.

Aware of the lifeline that coal mining offers to many families, Khuthala Environmental Care Group, has began talks with the Department of Mineral Resources to legalise informal mining.

The National Association of Artisanal Miners (NAAM) wants to be the voice of these miners.

They identified the need for an appropriate, and transparent policy and frame-work that focuses on the facilitation and management of artisanal mining.

Read more about their process of legalising informal mining in the next edition of the Highvelder newspaper.