1 hour ago
Last Updated:February 16, 2026, 21:40 IST
Dozens began digging in early February after soil believed to contain gold was discovered, with prices soaring past $5,000 an ounce.
A man balances a bucket full of soil as artisanal miners digging holes look for gold in a patch of land outside Springs, Ekurhuleni. (IMAGE: AFP)
A sudden gold rush has taken hold in the township of Springs, east of Johannesburg, where dozens of residents have begun digging a field believed to contain traces of the precious metal, AFP reported.
The site, previously a cattle enclosure, drew crowds from February 8, when residents first noticed unusual soil while digging a fence-post hole, according to locals. Word of the discovery spread quickly on social media, prompting a surge of informal prospectors armed with pickaxes and sacks.
Security guard Princess Thoko Mlangeni, 33, said the diggers arrived rapidly. “They spread like a virus," she told AFP, recalling the first day people began gathering at the site.
The rush comes as global gold prices have surged past $5,000 an ounce, more than doubling since the start of the year.
South Africa continues to face high unemployment of around 32%, according to official data, a factor residents say has driven many to try their luck at the site.
Mlangeni said she also searched for gold but found only a small fragment. “I only found a tiny little bit," she said.
Forty-seven-year-old Siyabonga Sidontsa said he had been transporting sacks of soil daily. “I came on Tuesday. I live a 30-minute walk away, and I take the sacks back with that," he said, pointing to a wheelbarrow while speaking to the news agency.
He added that after processing multiple sacks over several days, “I got very little but I can buy food with that," the news agency reported.
Some groups have been working on a larger scale, loading soil into small trucks, while others continue digging by hand.
Sidontsa said authorities should consider formalising operations. “They should open a proper mine here so that we can work," he said.
South Africa has seen similar rushes before. In 2021, a discovery in KwaZulu-Natal sparked a diamond rush, though experts later determined the stones were quartz. The country also has a long history of informal and illicit artisanal mining.
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Location :
Ekurhuleni, South Africa, India
First Published:
February 16, 2026, 21:40 IST
News world Gold Rush Grips South African Town As Fortune Seekers Arrive With Shovels And Trucks
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