Page 6 - Our Land

OUR LAND 6

OUT OF THE

DIRT
DIRT

LEGAL AT LAST Irvin Raymond (34) used to be an illegal diamond digger who has been granted a mining permit by the department of mineral resources as part of a
plan to formalise the trade that is draining the industry, according to Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant. After years of illegally extracting diamond
fragments from a mining site owned by the Kimberley Ekapa Mining joint venture, the Kimberley Artisanal Mineworkers will finally be recognised as a legal mining
cooperative. ‘This is a milestone for both the mining group and the miners who, for a long time, have been seen as illegal miners,’ said Oliphant PHOTOS: DEON RAATH
The artisanal wapping his orange prison overalls sleep. If you know that feeling, then you’d Women, he said, made up only 20% of the
for hard-wearing clothing to earn a know what I’m talking about. That’s how I feel miners.
miners of living crushing rocks and sifting every time I get a stone. I feel the spirits of but we only allow people older than 19 to
“We are not discriminating against anyone,
ancestors.”
gravel, in the hope of finding a
diamond, is the best decision For that first discovery, he scored R36 000 on work,” he said.
Kimberley STebogo Taku (43) has made. the black market and bought clothes for his He said they were also under pressure from
Taku has been in and out of prison several daughters, and a television set and furniture the SA Revenue Service and the Hawks to
are breaking times. His longest stay was when he was for his home. comply with legislation.
sentenced to four years for theft.
“That was the biggest find – for someone
Plans were also afoot to register diamond
Shortly after his release, he was arrested
new ground again for armed robbery, but he was released who had been living life doing crime to now buyers to make sure the miners were not being
robbed of the true value of their diamonds.
get that kind of money without bothering
due to lack of evidence in June 2015. anyone,” Taku said. Part of this process involves reporting black
by putting the The father of two from Warrenton in the He says that every time he finds a diamond market dealers to the Hawks, Seekoei said.
Northern Cape has since changed his criminal and sells it, he puts money into his children’s “We know this is not going to be easy as we
land to good ways and embarked on a journey that has led bank accounts to ensure they are provided for. will be targeted. Our lives are in danger, but we
urge our members not to go to the black
However, the lives of zama-zamas were not
to his being one of 300 miners to benefit from
use to provide mining permits issued last month by Deputy easy, and Taku and his fellow miners were market dealers. We need to regulate this thing
always in conflict with the mining company’s
for it to work. We have asked them to open
Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant.
Their permits allow them to mine diamonds security guards. They would often be arrested bank accounts so they can save their money.”
economic on more than 600 hectares of land owned by and, because they were forced to sell their He said members would contribute 15% of
Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture finds on the black market, this meant they their profits to the organisation. Of this
opportunity. Formation (KEM-JV) in Kimberley. didn’t get the full value for their discoveries. contribution, 5% would go towards
Taku said a decision to turn his life around
This is slowly changing as regulation kicks in.
administrative costs and 10% towards their
came the day before he was released from After the Kimberley Artisanal Miners, now retirement fund. They also plan to introduce a
Msindisi prison in 2015. known as Northern Cape Artisanal Small Scale medical aid for miners.
“Crime was my life. I’ve done things that I’m Miners, were finally granted permits as part of He said it was up to individuals in
Fengu not proud of so I could survive. That day, when a plan to formalise them, they can mine in cooperatives to decide on their working hours.
The miners only earn an income for the
peace and in step with the law.
I heard there were zama-zamas [illegal miners]
Lucky Seekoei, chairperson of the miners’
went to visit making millions here from sifting through the organisation, said the squabbles between the diamonds they find, so how much income they
earn is up to them.
ground looking for diamonds, changed my life.”
zama-zamas and the mining companies over
them to find A NEW LIFE rights to the mine had lasted for 15 years. He IN IT TOGETHER
Following his release, Taku took a taxi to said 300 miners were currently registered with “No one is working for the other.
out more Kimberley to join the zama-zamas. When he the organisation as part of plans to regulate Cooperatives decide where they want to work.
There are no fights. We are in this thing
arrived on site, he found a shack settlement
themselves.
and immediately began building his shack. “The permits have brought much relief to us. together and we understand this is the only
about what Taku said that, for three months, he relied on There has been an influx of people coming in way we can make a living,” Seekoei said.
help from others because he found nothing. to mine. We agreed to regulate ourselves and One of the few women who work on site is
they are Then, one Tuesday, that all changed. we have 30 cooperatives each made up of 10 Fahrana Dawson, whose two children live in
“I can still remember that day. It was around people who are registered with us.” Kimberley. She said she struggled to find work
Seekoei said 28 cooperatives were already
achieving 11am when I felt the stone [diamond] in my registered with the Companies and Intellectual and decided to try her hand at mining
diamonds.
hand. Since then, I’ve never forgotten that
feeling. It’s like my ancestors visited me in my Property Commission. “I’ve been here for four months now. I once