The biggest employer at Sanddrift in the Richtersveld, on the border between South Africa and Namibia, has closed shop.
Trans Hex closed its Baken mine and have retrenched all their workers.
The company says there are still diamonds, but not profitable to the mine.
It adds to a growing list of towns in the country left devastated after mines pull out.
Just two months ago, Baken was a thriving mining town. Now, it’s slowly turning into a ghost town, as people move out in search of new jobs.
Mirriam Cloete still remembers its heydays vividly.
She was one of the first women the mine employed as a truck operator.
She says, “I’m still not over the shock. It feels to me that I’m on my annual leave and I will return to work soon, but I’ve learned a lot in my 17 years.”
It’s also a blow for the economy of the small mining town.
For 40 years, the mine was the economic backbone of the Richterveld.
By January, more people are expected to relocate.
Frankie Fulton, a former mineworker, says, “I’m looking forward for the local government to come to the table and tell us what to do and also to bring the mine … whoever will come open the doors and uplift the community.”
Bakens’ soil is still diamond-rich and there’s fears that it’ll attract illegal mining activities.
Ben Vass, of NUM in Namaqualand, says, “The people in that area, knowing there are diamonds, will now resort to illegal mining. That’s the legacy we already have and we remember Bontekoe and what happened there. We are fearful that the same might happen.”
A mining Indaba will be held in Kuruman on Thursday to look into the impact of mines downscaling and measures to minimize the effects of negative market conditions.
