Award-winning investigative journalist, Graham Coetzer has lifted the lid on South Africa’s shadowy illegal mining underworld in his new book, Zama Zama: Inside the Illicit Mining Underworld, published by Tafelberg in May 2026.

Through exclusive interviews with zama zamas, syndicate insiders, intelligence operatives and law enforcement officials, Coetzer reveals how illicit gold is smuggled and laundered through a labyrinth of private refineries and fraudulent mining permits.

The book exposes an intricate VAT scam that reintroduces “dirty gold” into the legitimate global market by leveraging loopholes in South Africa’s regulatory framework.

The illicit gold trade extends far beyond South Africa’s borders. Coetzer traces how underground mining fuels international money laundering operations and links to organised crime syndicates, terrorism financing and global corruption networks.

Coetzer, a Carte Blanche producer since 2009, has produced stories exposing torture, fraud and corruption across Africa. He won the National Press Club Journalist of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Taco Kuiper Award and the Global Shining Light Award. His previous book, Hunting with the Hawks (2024), was a bestseller.

The book’s 256 pages describe a violent and treacherous world where gang wars, brutal enforcement tactics and corruption are rampant. Coetzer has personally seen footage of zama zamas beheading a rival, cutting off his whole head with a knife and kicking it around like a football.

“I’ve told you I can’t explain humanity’s obsession with gold,” Coetzer writes in the book. “But I can tell you that I’ve seen gold fever. That’s what those in the know call the corruptive seductive power the metal exerts over the people who spend their lives chasing it”.

He describes the lure of illegal mining as akin to gambling: “Going after gold is like gambling: you pick your horse or place your chips and pray the odds fall your way. Those odds are always going to be stacked against you. But, just like when you back the underdog in a horse race, there is a certain undeniable magic that courses through your veins when you get the win”.

Coetzer, who lives in Pretoria, previously told EWN that illegal mining has become a multi-billion-rand shadow economy. Speaking after a mass shooting in June 2026 linked to turf wars over mining territory, he described the attack as “very targeted”.

Zama Zama: Inside the Illicit Mining Underworld is available in softcover from Tafelberg, an imprint of Jonathan Ball Publishers.