Richard Nkosi and Lungile Dube

Cars ditched on bricks with no wheels, less partying during weekdays, children with no fathers, the declining of financial profits for Shebeen Queens selling booze, decline of tshisa nyama (townships butcheries selling meat where you braai it yourselves) and for mashonisas (loan sharks).  These are consequences of the barring of illegal mining that has turned a town that never slept into a deadly silent neighbourhood stricken with grief and crime.

Strangers from neighbouring countries had found wives, colleagues and employees who all had the vision of chasing the wolf from the door.

Barberton Times spoke to residents who shared their laughter, relief, grief and loss experienced over the last few years.

Many of these illegal miners, who would like to remain anonymous, said they were not prepared to risk their lives again by spending weeks at a time underground in the hope of receiving a cash windfall from their syndicate bosses.

Illegal mining received a nip in the bud after Barberton Mines increased their security by spending nearly R4 million a month in appointing a security executive that reports directly to management. Rewards of up to R50 000 were offered for information leading to the arrest of illegal miners and syndicates.

According to Casper Strydom, Barberton Mines general manager, they reinforced their security after the illegal miners took employees hostage in November and December last year forcing a two week suspension of operations, which significantly reduced its gold production.

The illegal mining was carried out mainly by illegal immigrants from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Swaziland to whom locals refer to as boSibali (brothers-in-law).

This was because many women and girls, some as young as 13-years, opted to rather live with their foreign boyfriends than locals, because the foreigners “knew how to treat women”. It was alleged that once the illegal miners came out of mines with huge amounts of money they lured the women to live with them.

A Mozambican national, who wished to be known as “Steven” shared what he had experienced in the years of living in the area.

He said he had friends from Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe who frequented the Barberton gold mines and sometimes only a few would return. “We would prepare ourselves for journeys stretching up to three weeks at a time.”
They were properly equipped with canned food, paraffin, primus stoves and tools to work with underground.

A car would be hired to shorten the journey and a number of secret entrances would give them access to the gold. Others would use a cable to slide down into the mine and some would slip and fall resulting in instant death.

Those who knew the mines, allegedly used Fairview because of its incline shaft to get through to Sheba mine. A mine worker said some employees were caught assisting illegal miners to access the mine’s locomotives.

While some locals hated the largely foreign criminals for looting Barberton’s resources, others said they benefited the area.

"They did not make any trouble when they came out of the mines. People love them because they always had a lot of money and they spend it in the community. They rented houses, supported our businesses and even improved our area by building decent houses for their wives and girlfriends," one loan shark said.

Emotions and opinions differed from one household to another. One of the residents blamed parents and guardians for the situation.

“If only people had morals and didn’t sell their daughters as wives to the illegal miners, we wouldn’t have this high number of school dropouts and teenage pregnancies. Many young boys would still be alive and those who are crippled today because of illegal mining will live with a story to tell for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Many still wonder what would have happened if illegal mining wasn’t cubed. “Firearms were becoming toys in the neighbourhood.

Youngsters were killing one another for gold, while young girls were used by their families to solicit money from the illegal miners.”

How many illegal firearms are in circulation now, how many girls are pregnant, not to mention the rate of HIV infection and deaths?

Although illegal mining has been curbed in the area, it will take the Barberton community a long time to recover from the loss, grief and pain that has engulfed them.

Sheba Mine

An illegal adit closed down by the mine to prevent entry