Overview
- Crowds have continued digging for more than a week after a resident reported finding gold nuggets in a Gugulethu township cattle enclosure in Springs.
- Zama-zamas and unemployed locals have turned the kraal into pits and trenches, hauling soil to nearby rivers to sift for specks of metal.
- Officials say the activity is illegal and hazardous, and police efforts to disperse the diggers have not stopped people from returning.
- City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Phakamile Mbengashe warns of environmental and economic harm, with damage to be quantified only after engineers conduct on-site evaluations.
- Some participants claim small finds sold on the black market, though authorities have not verified the presence of gold and have urged would-be prospectors to obtain lawful permits.