Episode
South Africa’s illegal mining crisis, and why you should care about this
- Podcast
- Democracy Unplugged
- Published
- Mar 5, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4052
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://iono.fm/e/1652619
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/democracy-unplugged-6911807/episodes/south-africa-s-illegal-mining-crisis-and-why-you-should-care-about-this/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/democracy-unplugged-6911807/south-africa-s-illegal-mining-crisis-and-why-you-should-care-about-this.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
What really drives South Africa’s illegal mining crisis, and how does this impact you? Phumi Mashigo investigates the complex world of so-called “zama zama” miners and the forces that keep the underground economy alive. She is joined by guests Sabelo Mnguni, National Coordinator at Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA); Kgothatso Nhlengetwa, Artisanal Mining Specialist and founding Director at Imbokodo Mining Services; and African Transformation Movement’s Vuyo Zungula. Together they explore why illegal mining has become such a deeply entrenched challenge in South Africa, and why policing alone may never solve it. The Burning Platform