War for diamonds: An unequal battle

Read More

The search for diamonds along the West Coast is an unequal one. Up against big companies, private security firms and the police, illegal miners who want legal permits have to fight for their existence. 

“I was caught putting food on the table,” says Andrew Arnolds, an illegal miner in Port Nolloth, in the Northern Cape who has been arrested more than six times since he started the activity in 2012.  

Advertising

Your M&G

Did you enjoy this feature? The Mail & Guardian has a proud 35 year history of producing South Africa’s best-informed, independent journalism. Since the very beginning, we have relied on the support of paying subscribers to fund our writers.

Doing so guarantees our editorial independence and enables us to survive no matter what the bad actors, the economy or Covid-19 throws at us. Want to support the Mail & Guardian? You can get unlimited access to all of stories, plus our weekly crossword and subscriber events from just R99 a month.






Related articles

You may also be interested in

Headline

Never Miss A Story

Get our Weekly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.
Cookie policy

We use our own and third party cookies to allow us to understand how the site is used and to support our marketing campaigns.