Gold’s deadly glitter
Littered with abandoned gold mines, eastern Botswana is drawing hundreds of informal prospectors as the precious metal’s price smashes records.
Keletso Thobega in Francistown
With the price of gold climbing to new records every month, eastern Botswana has become inundated with unlicensed miners who are reopening old mines to scrape for leftovers. They leave behind gaping holes, eroded grasslands and water sources contaminated by the mercury used to extract gold in low cost operations.
Global gold prices have risen nearly 47% in the past 18 months, making prospecting for the precious metal even more attractive.
Formal gold mining used to be big business in Matsiloje village, which lies north of Francistown, Botswana’s second city, close to the border with Zimbabwe. But the big gold operation in the area, Rainbow Mine, closed about a decade ago. Fifty kilometres east of Francistown is the Mupane gold mine, which is also closed. It had re-opened in 2022 but is now under liquidation. Economically desperate people see these mines as a sign the area is rich in gold.
Kitted with metal detectors and basic tools, they dig into abandoned mine holes, private farmlands and homesteads, looking for gold in Matsiloje, Matshelagabedi and some parts of Francistown.
Local police believe many of the unlicensed miners are undocumented Zimbabweans who have crossed over the nearby border. They say only 22 of the 136 unlicensed miners arrested in the past two years were from Botswana, and that most of the others were Zimbabwean.
One miner, who only spoke to The Continent on condition of anonymity, said he holds a Zimbabwean passport and crossed legally into Botswana. Initially, he worked as a lifter and seller for a gold miner but decided to join the mining. “Jobs are few, especially for us foreigners. It is hard to start any business when you don’t have capital.”
He added: “I know it is illegal but it got me good money. We were risking our lives but sometimes you do anything to survive and feed your family.”
The risk is real.
In December 2024, a miner died after being trapped underground. Arrest is even more likely. This year so far, five men have been sentenced to six months in jail for illegal mining.
Reckoning with the environmental destruction caused, residents in the area want higher sentences, especially for repeat offenders. Six months, they say, is too light and does little to discourage repeat offences. “They mined into locals’ farmlands and homesteads leaving big holes on the ground. Some of these men are violent and carry dangerous weapons,” said the Matsiloje village chief, Kgosi Eric Moipolai.
Botswana’s government has sent more police and soldiers to patrol the area. After a visit, Minister of State Presidency Moeti Mohwasa acknowledged the urgent need for sustainable employment opportunities, while Minister of Minerals and Energy Bogolo Kenewendo said the government is considering harsher penalties.
The 2022 attempt to reopen Mupane gold mine offered brief hope for legal mining jobs, which has now fizzled.
“Mupane has faced financial difficulties and ceased operations in March 2024. It is currently under liquidation,” auctioneer John Taylor told BizCommunity in May. Taylor is overseeing the sale and said bids were due by last Friday.