Lure of elusive wealth leads to disease, exploitation

Most of the miners who spoke to Business Daily admitted that although they consider mining gold as their only source of livelihood, they do not benefit a lot from it.

“It is very unfortunate that after toiling all day, we are left with nothing but the peanuts we get from the middle men but we are hopeful that the mining Bill 2014 that is currently before Parliament will protect small scale miners like us. “The Bill it will open ways and empower small-scale miners,” says Mr Protos Embova.

The miners are exploited by middlemen, leading to low wages despite the high turnover from the industry. The workers have limited opportunity to participate in collective bargaining processes since they have no formal association and have not joined any union.
Olivia Hamoya, 33, has been doing this work since 2002 but she does not have anything to show for it. “I work here the whole day, the mineral I get, I sell to the middle men who pay us very little money,” she said. She added that had there been a miners union, there would be no exploitation and since there is no one to fight for them, they have no option but to sell to the middlemen

The industry lacks a clear guideline on safety standards. It is not certain that those who get into the deep holes will get out and enjoy the fruits of their labour.

She says that the middle men are buying the mineral below the indicative prices and selling them for good money. “We are calling upon the government to come up with initiatives that will enable us access devolved funds, training and market so that we can effectively negotiate for better prices for our products,” she said

“The buyers who get to the mining sites make huge profits at the expense of the poor miners.”

She says that despite knowing that they are being exploited, they opt to sell the mineral to the middlemen because they are able to get their money at once. “We know very well that they pay very little but because it is done at once, we do not have any other means but to sell to them,” she said.

She said if the Bill sails through, it would open up the sector to local funding, adding that the high level of poverty and unemployment in the area had led many youths to mining thinking that it has instant money.

Silicosis is the most common disease among the small-scale miners because the rocks have high quantities of silica dust. When the miners blast, crush or move the rocks, they inevitably generate very fine particles of silica dust. Dr Marco Sheria, a pulmonologist at Aga Khan Hospital said there are many fatal diseases that come from the pollutants that are released into the air during the mining process.

She said arsenic from mine tailings pose grave dangers. “Arsenic poisoning can cause the thickening and discoloration of the skin, numbness in the hands and feet, partial paralysis, blindness and many other ailments,” she said

She added that the health impact of mercury include decreased visual fields, renal damage, possible increased risk of lipid deposition with increased risk of coronary failure and carotid artery disease.

Prof Rodney Ehrlich of the school of Public Health at the University of Cape Town (UCT), explains that around 3,000 miners in 100,000 are diagnosed with TB annually in South Africa. “The reason why it is so high in South Africa is silica, and silicosis, is fuelled by the rising tide of HIV,” Prof Ehrlich says.

“HIV rates are very high among miners because of the sexual networks in the migrant labour system, where you have half a million men living without their partners,” he says. HIV increases the relative risk of contracting TB by three to five times.

Silicosis increases the relative risk of TB by two to five times.