Johannesburg Council Blames Illegal Miners for Sinkholes, Experts Dispute
With local elections approaching, politicians attribute ground collapse to informal mining, but geologists point to industrial water extraction as the primary cause.
By William Turner ·
The collapse of Wemmer Pan Road has become a central issue in the local elections scheduled for 4 November in Johannesburg.
Kenny Kunene, the city council member responsible for transport, led journalists on a tour of sinkholes in May. He identified illegal miners, known locally as zama zamas, as the primary cause of the ground failures. Kunene specifically pointed to a section of the road that had completely disappeared into raw earth pitted with digging holes.
This political narrative coincides with a surge in informal mining activity. Cora Bailey, who has treated animals in the Roodepoort townships since 1991, reported that dozens of zama zamas arrived near her charity, Claw, in late September. The miners drew water from the organization's two 25,000-litre tanks, which support approximately 100 rescued animals. Bailey closed the gate at midday in mid-October after the water level dropped to about two buckets.
Police operations have intensified but yield mixed results. Officers arrested 71 suspected illegal miners nationwide on 19 October. However, a previous operation in Stilfontein in 2025 ended when officers blocked supplies, leading to the recovery of 93 bodies from a shaft. Researchers estimate that tens of thousands of miners operate illegally, with a majority coming from Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
Experts challenge the council's attribution of sinkholes to zama zamas. Rosalind Morris, an anthropology professor at Columbia University, stated that formal industrial mining is the biggest culprit. She explained that industrial operations remove hundreds of millions of gallons of water daily, destabilizing the porous dolomitic rock south and west of the city.
Morris acknowledged that intense zama zama activity in areas with residual gold causes structural collapse. However, she described the claim that informal miners invented the problem as completely fallacious. The city government maintains that 40,000 tonnes of gold remain underground, though recovery costs have risen as deposits lie deeper.
Gwede Mantashe, the mining minister, noted in 2025 that 6,100 mines are derelict and ownerless, with 1,170 unsafe openings. Mining companies are legally required to seal shafts and rehabilitate sites, a duty frequently unfulfilled. This void has been filled by informal miners who are now being blamed for local economic and infrastructure challenges.
Violence in mining areas is also attributed to zama zamas, including a mass shooting in Wedela township in September. David van Wyk, lead researcher at Bench Marks Foundation, argued that feuding gangs controlling shaft access are responsible for the gun violence. He noted that the miners working underground are exploited labor, while the armed gangs collect the gold without going below ground.
