MARK OLALDE
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South  Africa

A  journey  into  south  Africa's  mines,  the  lives  of  its  miners  and
the  energy-production  industries  fueling  Africa's  rapid  growth

By: Mark Olalde


Photo  of  the  Week  -  2

8/17/2015

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Sharp, sharp!

The zama zamas eyed my racially diverse group suspiciously. They were engaged in an illegal and surprisingly organized mining operation on the border of Johannesburg and Soweto in a gold mine that was abandoned for all intents and purposes. In the picture, an unofficial zama zama supervisor proffers a piece of recently mined gold ore for viewing.

Zama seems to be one of those words that slips between languages, especially in South Africa, where the country's 11 official languages sometimes merge into a distinct South African slang. In Zulu, the word means try, and the miners -- at least the ones I met the day I took this picture -- were proud of their title: "We try! We try!"

Cheers,
Mark
Picture
A zama zama displays gold ore mined at a site near Johannesburg.
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    Mark Olalde

    I am a freelance journalist previously based in southern Africa where I reported on the related industries of mining and energy production.

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