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South Africa's illegal gold miners are locked in an underground standoff with police

Surviving on a diet of toothpaste and toilet paper, South Africa's notorious "zama-zama" illegal miners continue a weeks-long standoff with police in the darkness of a disused gold mine.
An artisanal miner, locally known as a zama-zama, mines for gold at a mining operation in Stormhill, west of Johannesburg, on Aug. 11, 2023.

Surviving on a diet of toothpaste and toilet paper, South Africa's notorious "zama-zama" illegal miners continue a weeks-long standoff with police in the darkness of a disused gold mine.

(Image credit: Shiraaz Mohamed)

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