Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: A gold rush has gripped an informal settlement east of the South African city of Johannesburg, after reports spread a few days ago about the discovery of some gold particles.
A resident in a poor neighbourhood of the former mining town of Springs claimed to have found several nuggets while digging at an outdoor enclosure used for cattle. Dozens of people have now descended on the area and have been digging up the fenced area where the cows were once penned in, hoping to strike it rich.
Armed with pickaxes and shovels, they have been sifting through the soil in scenes reminiscent of the gold rush that helped build South Africa’s financial capital more than a century ago. Springs was once a booming gold town, but its mines were closed several years ago because the extreme depth of the shafts made operations uneconomical.
The town is now surrounded by informal settlements, many of whose residents are migrants from neighbouring countries. South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources has condemned this week’s mining activity in Spring’s informal settlement of Gugulethu, calling it illegal and warning that it is damaging the environment. While visiting the site, the BBC found that some of the ground had become unstable.
So-called illegal mining is common in South Africa, and numerous people have died over the years while working in unsafe conditions. Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he would deploy the army to help the police fight criminal gangs and illegal mining in the country.
