Artisanal Miners, Migration and Remittances in Southern Africa

Abstract

During the twentieth century, a vast majority of migrants from Lesotho employed in South African commercial mines were men. The situation has markedly changed, however. This is due mainly to the fact that a lot of the South African commercial mines were closed and many of the foreign workers, including Basotho men, were retrenched. Since the closure of some of the commercial gold mines, many Basotho men and those from other countries in southern Africa have shifted to work informally in abandoned and closed mines. Many of these men are undocumented migrants, to whom the borders between South Africa and Lesotho is practically invisible. This chapter examines the cross-border mobility practices of Basotho men working informally in abandoned and closed mines in Johannesburg, South Africa. It explores how these artisanal miners negotiate access to South Africa without documents or with expired passports. The chapter further examines how these artisanal miners remit funds to Lesotho considering that most of them are undocumented migrants with no access to banks and formal financial institutions. It draws from existing literature and some interviews with Basotho miners.