South Africa's Shadow Miners Are Threatening the Minerals Inside Your Phone
Criminal networks are looting the gold, platinum, and other minerals powering the global tech economy and a military crackdown may not be enough to stop them
KEY FACTS
WHAT HAPPENED? South Africa has deployed over 2,000 troops under Operation Prosper to combat zama zama criminal syndicates, who illegally extract up to 30% of the country’s annual gold output
WHY IT MATTERS? South Africa supplies large quantities of minerals essential to smartphones, EVs, and green energy technology. Illegal mining destabilizes those supply chains at a moment of surging global demand
WHAT’S NEXT? Even a successful crackdown risks displacing criminal networks to neighboring countries, while record-high gold prices and new Red Sea-driven shipping routes through the Cape of Good Hope may give the zama zamas new incentives and new opportunities to expand
Creatures of the Night
As the night sky stretches over Gauteng province, tens of thousands of men descend into long-abandoned mining shafts once the clock strikes midnight. While residents sleep, these men extract the very mineral wealth powering our everyday lives: from smartphones to electric vehicles.
The paradox: one of the world’s most critical mineral jurisdictions is also home to one of the world’s largest illegal mining economies in South Africa.
Known as “zama zamas,” these criminal syndicates consist of roughly 30,000 illegal miners, operating across approximately 6,000 abandoned shafts in Gauteng, North West, and Free State. Gold is their primary target; illicit output is estimated to represent 5-30% of South Africa’s annual gold production, costing the country up to ZAR 60 billion ($3.5 billion) annually. It’s not just gold, either. Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), chrome, manganese, and coal are all being targeted.
The toll of inaction has become too steep. This month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa launched Operation Prosper, a military campaign to counter illegal mining nationwide, at a cost of $49.2 million, according to Associated Press.
From South Africa to Silicon Valley
South Africa’s mineral wealth is, quite literally, a goldmine. The country is Africa’s third-largest gold producer, producing up to 104 tonnes in 2023. It also accounts for roughly 70% of global platinum production, over 40% of international chromium output, and approximately 36% of the world’s manganese supply, the largest share of any country.
These aren’t just niche commodities. PGMs and manganese are essential to catalytic converters, fuel cells, and high-energy batteries that sit at the heart of Europe’s and China’s green-tech ambitions. Nearly all everyday devices—including the one you’re reading this on—carries some reliance on South African minerals. Yet it’s precisely those supply chains that the zama zamas are undermining, and with them, the technologies consumers worldwide eagerly anticipate.
A War Below Ground
Under Operation Prosper, over 2,000 troops have been deployed across five provinces: Gauteng, North West, Free State, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape. The mission is to shut illegal shafts, disrupt gang networks, and halt the open transport of illicitly mined ore.
Early results are encouraging: dozens of shafts closed, hundreds of arrests, and hundreds of tonnes of material seized. Yet, while this is the largest deployment of its kind, it’s not the first. A similar operation in 2023 failed to deter the zama zamas long-term.
South Africa’s mineral wealth is thus a double-edged sword: drawing global investment and criminal enterprise in equal measure.
Beyond the Mines
A sustained crackdown could suppress anywhere from 5 to 30 tonnes of illicit gold output per year, depending on enforcement effectiveness. But the zama zamas are unlikely to yield quietly. Gold prices are at historic highs, around $4,500 per ounce, with the Iran crisis continuing to drive investors toward safe-haven assets. As the resource grows more valuable, the incentive to extract it—legally or not—only intensifies.
The shifting geography of global shipping adds another wrinkle. As vessels reroute from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa stands to see a surge in maritime traffic, and with it, new corridors for illicit trade.
Most critically, even a successful Operation Prosper risks achieving little more than displacement. Criminal networks pushed out of South Africa will likely migrate to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and beyond, where illegal mining activities are also rampant. These countries are equally ill-equipped to absorb the pressure.
The story of South Africa’s illegal mining is, ultimately, a story about the fragility of the global critical minerals supply chain: a fragility that will only deepen as demand for EVs, batteries, and clean energy technology accelerates.
When viewed from this angle, Operation Prosper at best marks a genuine turning point. At worst, it’s the latest chapter in a long, unresolved conflict, one whose consequences stretch far beyond Gauteng’s abandoned shafts and all the way to the halls of Silicon Valley.
This reporting may be cited with attribution to Oasis Media Collective. For licensing, republication, or extended use, contact here.