Photos show the desperate search for scraps left by big diamond operators. But amid rampant poverty and unemployment, zama-zamas see no other way to provide for their families.

THE SOUTH African Police Service's Operation Vala Umgodi has made significant strides in combating illegal mining activities in the Northern Cape. On Sunday, July 20, a joint operation between the ...

For now, the South African government is asking citizens to stop digging for diamonds as the result of illegal mining is negative environmental impact. Originally Published: June 21, 2021 at 10:59 ...

Scientists have uncovered a rare “super-deep” diamond in the Cullinan mine in Gauteng province of South Africa. Wrapped in this diamond is the mineral calcium silicate perovskite, the fourth ...

Jefferson Ncube, an illegal diamond miner from Zimbabwe, works on his latest tunnel at an abandoned De Beers mine near Kleinzee, South Africa.

A swimming pool lies empty in the town of Kleinzee in the Namaqualand region of South Africa. The town was once the property of the De Beers diamond company. In its heyday, it was a thriving ...

Yet here on South Africa's wild and diamond-rich Atlantic coast, residents say the number of zama-zamas has burgeoned in recent years, fueled by the lack of jobs, the economic impact of the COVID ...

In Kleinzee, a faded mining town once owned by De Beers, where most homes now lie empty, residents say the influx of illegal miners from around South Africa and neighboring countries has led to a ...