South Africa's vast chrome reserves, among the largest in the world, have helped make the country a major player in the global mining industry. However, the valuable mineral has also fuelled a dangerous underground economy involving illegal mining, criminal networks and deadly violence.
Illegal miners often operate in abandoned or poorly secured mines, where they face extremely dangerous conditions, including tunnel collapses, toxic gases and a lack of proper safety equipment. Competition for control of valuable mining areas has also led to violence between rival criminal groups.
The illegal chrome trade can involve complex networks that buy, transport and sell minerals outside official channels. These activities deprive the government of revenue and can damage legitimate mining operations and surrounding communities.
Authorities have intensified efforts to combat illegal mining and criminal networks, but the problem remains difficult to control because of poverty, unemployment and the high profits generated by valuable minerals.
For many people involved, illegal mining is driven by economic desperation. But the risks are severe, with miners facing possible arrest, exploitation, violence and death underground.
South Africa's chrome wealth therefore presents a difficult challenge: while the mineral brings major economic opportunities, weak security and illegal exploitation have allowed a dangerous shadow economy to grow around it.