Abstract
Since the start of large-scale gold mining in South Africa in the late 1800s, little effort has been made to include artisanal and small-scale miners in the economic development of the country. This exclusion created an equity gap. It is only in the post-Apartheid period, after 1994, that legislation was first put in place to foster artisanal and small-scale mining in South Africa. However, legislation largely focusses on small and industrialised mining, making no room for any artisanal type of mining, consequently, excluding historically disadvantaged people from the mineral riches of South Africa. Artisanal miners are marginalised by default, and often also labelled as illegal. Therefore, the sector is either ignored or suppressed by powerful actors like mining companies and government. ..
Ph.D. (Sociology)