Daily Sun (June 19 2014) - ILLEGAL miners lose their lives all the time. But they won't give up!
THEIR FAMILIES WOULD STARVE IF THEY DIDN'T BATTLE THE DANGERS UNDERGROUND.
These pictures, taken by zama zamas themselves, are a first. They show a typical day in their lives.
For zama zamas there's no question of giving in to repeated efforts by cops, mining officials and owners to chase them away. This year, 20 of them were killed in the Magogo Durban Deep mine near Roodepoort, west of Joburg. But they keep returning to the abandoned mine, which they call Thapong.
Thabang Motloung (28) of Lesotho is typical of many zama zamas.
Poverty and family demands drove him to Joburg to find a job - and this was the best he could find.