But gold in the Witwatersrand is not native, meaning the zamas must find a way to break the chemical bonds locking gold with sulphite in ore. To solve this problem, the miners mix the crushed and strained rocks and soil with mercury before burning off the mercury using oxygen tank-fed fires. This leads to air and water pollution as well as consequences for the health of zamas and their communities.
“Of course the question is: What is the supply chain of mercury? Mercury doesn’t fall from heaven,” Van Wyk said. “So someone must be supplying the mercury, and we suspect it’s the same syndicates, sponsors, who buy the gold. We know that for a fact that zama zama mining is a cartel-based industry and the workers that you see that are zama zamas are the bottom of the pyramid,” said Kgothatso Nhlengetwa, a mining geologist researching artisanal mining at the University of the Witwatersrand.
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