High unemployment in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa and a rising gold price have fuelled a boom in illegal mining, from small-scale operations to highly organised syndicates, creating a security nightmare for mining companies and putting staff at risk in this high-stakes business.Illegal mining, whether it is carried out by individuals - known as zama zamas - or syndicates, has existed for years throughout Africa. Some operations are small and can be controlled merely by beefing up security; others involve armed groups taking full control of the area in which they are mining.According to the South African Chamber of Mines, illegal mining is on the rise in the country.Ian Cruickshanks, chief economist at the South African Institute of Race Relations, said: "People are desperate because there is no work coming from anywhere else.story_article_left1"In the official mining companies, there are few opportunities and fewer immigrants, and therefore, there's more desperation."They probably take on any opportunity they are offered no matter the risk factor."Illegal miners invade either older sections of a mine or those that have already been shut down, as has happened at Sibanye and at AngloGold's Obuasi mine in Ghana.The Chamber of Mines said illegal mining happened in five tiers.Illegal underground workers are tier one, followed by buyers on the surface of the mine who provide the underground workers with what is needed to mine, followed by bulk buyers who are permit holders.The fourth tier is the distributors who supply the products nationally and internationally through front companies.Lastly, the fifth tier are buyers of the mineral or metal through international refineries and companies.AngloGold said its first clear encounter with illegal miners in South Africa was about four years ago, and since then, its security measures and processes had been effective at keeping this threat at bay. It said its losses from this were negligible.The Chamber of Mines said the increase in illegal mining was due to an increase in the gold price since the start of the century. The worrying factor is that authorities know about it and they look the other way. Why haven't they done anything already?  In early 2000 gold was $255 an ounce; it is currently trading at $1317 , boosted recently by the decision of Britain to leave the EU .Cruickshanks said the incentive of an increased gold price would increase illegal mining activity from zama zamas - who also benefit from the weaker rand."Illegal mining will remain a significant revenue contributor and nobody will ever know exactly how much it is. They have little refining operations in these little towns and they are probably walking with it across the border or have found someone to be paid off," said Cruickshanks.story_article_right2AngloGold Ashanti, a South African gold mine with two operations in Ghana, has in the past few months experienced illegal mining activity at its Obuasi mine.Law enforcement that is supposed to be provided by the government to protect the company and state resources is nowhere near the site. Having secured the area only temporarily, security personnel withdrew in February after an armed group of artisanal miners invaded the mine.The company said it had tried to get the government to assist but to no avail. It then approached the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes to compel the Ghanaian government to help restore order at the mine. AngloGold is engaging with the centre in an effort to find a way forward.AngloGold said that although there was no situation comparable to Obuasi anywhere else across its mining portfolio, illegal mining was a challenge even in South Africa.AngloGold spokesman Chris Nthite said: "We continue to closely monitor the worrying trend of illegal mining activity locally, and our approach of carefully securing entrances to our operational sites has thus far been effective for us."The company's security systems include technology to monitor every person who goes underground, which has helped mitigate the risk.At Damang mine in Ghana, owned by Gold Fields, illegal mining activity is evident.However, according to Gold Fields spokesman Sven Lunsche, the illegal mining activity is "far away from the active mining areas and is very limited and under control through co-operation and engagement with local authorities, traditional leaders and local communities".story_article_left3South Deep, the only South African operation the company owns, was not at risk of illegal mining, he said.Earlier this year one person died and another was injured at the closed section of Sibanye Gold's Cooke 1 shaft in Randfontein, Gauteng. The company said three men barricaded the area to mine illegally. One miner escaped. Sibanye said the miners had not been directly employed by the company.Cruickshanks said there was nothing safe about illegal mining."There are no guarantees, there are no things like medical aid and pension funds."The worrying factor is that authorities know about it and they look the other way. Why haven't they done anything already?" he said.The platinum sector so far seems to have not been targeted by illegal miners, with no reports of such activity in the sector.Given that the metal is extracted through a chemical reaction once the rock is extracted from underground, it is harder to steal.The Chamber of Mines said South Africa lost about R6-billion a year in illegal mining and 14000 people were estimated to be involved in it.mtonganal@sundaytimes.co.za..