South Africa’s chrome riches feed a deadly underground economy

# What happened On August 13, a wall of soil collapsed at a disused chrome mining site near Nkaneng, outside Rustenburg in North West province. At least 14 miners died in the collapse. Survivors and officials say most of those killed were believed to be undocumented migrants. The event exposed an informal chrome economy that operates around abandoned and inactive mine sites.

# Why chrome attracts illegal operations Rustenburg sits above the Bushveld Igneous Complex, which contains extensive chrome deposits that feed global industries such as stainless steel production. Chrome deposits are often shallower than other minerals, making extraction cheaper and faster for small-scale operators. That lowers the barrier to entry for criminal groups, intermediaries and desperate workers.

# How the underground economy works

Those controlling equipment, transport and buyer contacts retain most profits. Miners work under debt arrangements or coercion and may be forced to continue until debts are considered repaid. The result is an extractive chain that concentrates profits at the top while exposing the workforce to collapse, poisoning and other hazards.

# The safety and governance gap Thousands of abandoned shafts remain across South Africa. Experts cited in the reporting call these sites "sitting graves" because there is no systematic geological verification of stability and many shafts have not been rehabilitated. South Africa's government has programmes to close and rehabilitate dangerous shafts, but experts and local voices say action is too limited compared with the scale of the problem.

Police and officials regularly link illegal mining to organised crime, including violence and illicit trafficking. The combination of poverty, few legal job options and weak enforcement sustains a steady flow of vulnerable workers into these high-risk sites.

# Human impact Relatives of missing miners gathered at local police stations after the collapse, travelling long distances for news. One survivor described fleeing the collapse because he lacked identity documents and feared arrest. Accounts illustrate how migrants without legal status are both targeted for recruitment and fearful of seeking help after accidents.

# Wider consequences

# Immediate implications

# What to watch next Expect pressure on provincial and national authorities to scale up mine rehabilitation and enforcement. Monitoring movements of ore into supply chains could identify links between informal operators and formal buyers. Community-level support for families affected by collapses and clearer pathways for safer work or legal migration would change incentives that sustain the underground economy.