At least seventeen people, including three children, have died following a gas leak thought to be associated with an illegal gold mine in Gauteng Province, South Africa, on Wednesday 5 July 2023. All of the dead are reported to have been found within a hundred metres of a building where four gas cylinders were found, within an area of tightly packed improvised houses in the informal settlement of Angelo in Boksburg, to the east of Johannesburg. Witnesses to the incident have described whole families dying, and people falling dead as they tried to flee the area, and South African rescue workers have described finding bodies scattered in the streets, and are still searching homes in the area for more victims. Three people are recovering in hospital, all of whom are described as being in a serious condition.
The site where the leak occurred appears to have been used to process ore gathered illegally from a nearby mine site that had closed down. South Africa has a long history of strife over mining, largely relating to the exploitation of resources by large foreign companies and the relatively poor remuneration of mineworkers and communities that have lost land to mines, disputes that are intimately connected to the long term struggle against the Apartheid system in the country. However illegal mining is seen as a relatively new problem, driven by high unemployment and a contraction in the mining industry which has seen many experienced former mineworkers laid off, that authorities have yet to catch up with. As well as being a loss of revenue to the state, illegal mines do not comply with South Africa's environmental and health and safety laws, and can therefore present a threat to communities close to the operations, as well as miners employed at the sites, particularly if gold is being worked, since the quickest and cheapest way to separate gold from ore involves the use of (highly toxic) mercury and other harmful substances. Aggregates (sand and gravel) used in the building industry are also considered a problem, as indiscriminate mining can lead to the destruction of natural habitats and farmland, as well as hastening soil and river erosion.
The site is reported to have contained four gas cylinders, three upright on a rack, and one lying on its side (possibly having been dropped, which could have led to the gas leak), which have variously been described by local sources as containing nitrous oxide or 'nitrate' gas, which was apparently being used in the refining process. The exact method being used is unclear, but nitric acid is widely used in the purification of gold, but generally difficult for members of the public to get hold of, and other nitrogen compounds are sometimes mixed with hydrochloric acid to form a crude form of aqua regia to serve the same purpose (not recommended), and it is possible that the gas was being used in this way.
If the gas was nitrous oxide (which seems the more likely explanation, as nitrates are seldom gasses), then it could have been obtained from a medical supplier or user (probably illegally) where it would have been intended for use as an anaesthetic. Inhalation of small amounts of nitrous oxide is known to make people drowsy and hamper decision making processes, while larger concentrations are deadly. The gas is heavier than air, which would enable it to spread along the ground before dispersing, creating a deadly cloud within an environment such as the Angelo settlement.
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