Gold prices have reached historical highs in 2025, trading above $2 500 (approximately R46 750) per ounce, representing a significant increase from 2023, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and central bank purchases.
Small-scale and artisanal mining now contributes a significant portion of global gold production, particularly in Africa and Latin America.
Organised crime groups, including drug cartels, increasingly fund illegal mining operations.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned that illegal gold mining finances terrorism and transnational crime networks.
High demand from major gold-consuming markets, including China, combined with opaque supply chains through Dubai-based refineries, has raised international concerns about money laundering and the risk of illicit gold entering the formal market.
Gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda has been identified by international watchdogs and trade reports as high-risk due to links with conflict financing and human rights abuses.
SOUTH AFRICA’S ABANDONED MINES TURN DEADLY
South Africa’s Stilfontein mine saw at least 87 deaths during a police siege in January 2025. Operation Vala Umgodi blocked food and water to flush out 2 000 illegal miners.
Of the 246 survivors rescued from the Stilfontein mine, the majority were foreign nationals, primarily from Mozambique, with some from Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
Police refused aid, citing national security concerns and criminal activity. The government estimated R60 billion lost to illegal mining in 2024 alone.
There are over 6 000 derelict and abandoned mine shafts in South Africa, and gangs operate in and control many of these areas.
Civil rights groups condemned the siege as a humanitarian crisis and policy failure.
ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE IN THE AMAZON
Illegal mining caused deforestation in Peru’s Madre de Dios region, tracked by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) satellites.
About 36% of Amazon mining deforestation occurs within protected areas and Indigenous territories, where much of it is likely illegal, according to the Amazon Conservation Association’s MAAP program.
In South Africa, illegal miners polluted the Blyde River, smothering yellowfish eggs.
Dr Francois Roux, an aquatic scientist with the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), has directly linked the failed spawning of yellowfish species to sediment stirred up by illegal mining, which clogs riverbeds and deprives eggs of oxygen.
Aerial surveys in August 2024 found 50 active sites near Pilgrim’s Rest. The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere warned of downstream ecosystem collapse.
Water security for Hoedspruit and citrus farms is now critically threatened.
GLOBAL RESPONSE AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Ghana deployed AI drones to monitor daily for illegal activity. Gold Fields spends around 500 000 (R9 350 000)annually on surveillance and armed patrols.
Ghana’s Minerals Commission can remotely disable illegal machinery via AI systems. Swissaid reported 229 metric tons of gold smuggled from Ghana between 2019 and 2023.
UNODC urged stronger corporate accountability and regional cooperation in May 2025. Experts warn that rising gold prices make illegal mining more profitable, which in turn fuels and intensifies conflicts.
The Wagner Group allegedly funds operations through African gold mining profits.
HOW CAN POLICY CURB CARTEL MINING WITHOUT HARMING COMMUNITIES?
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