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PurposeThis paper aims to examine the interaction between formal and informal organisation of work inside the pit, with reference to the informal working or coping strategy of “making a plan” (planisa).Design/methodology/approachThe research for this paper was ethnographic in nature and the participant observation was the main research technique used in the field.FindingsThe underground gold miners make a plan or engage in planisa to offset the production bottlenecks which affected their capacity to achieve their production targets and increase their bonus earnings. They “get on and get by” underground in order to cope with organisational constraints and management inefficiencies.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the limits of formal organisation of work and the significance of gold miners’ informal work strategy of making a plan (planisa) as an existing and alternative working practice that shapes their subjective orientation, agency and resilience to work structures and managerial strategies. Any strategy designed to improve the health, safety and productivity of underground miners must recognise, elaborate and systematically articulate the workplace culture of planisa as an existing work practice in the day‐to‐day running of the production process down the mine.

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This is a descriptive account of my immersion in the daily working lives of deep-level underground mining teams (see Chapter 2). This account of my participant observation down the mine is crucial for understanding the typical daily life of a deep-level gold miner inside and outside the pit. It consists of two parts. The first part is an account of the day's work underground. The second part comprises a photo essay À a tale gold mining in pictures. On the bitterly cold morning of Wednesday, 4 July 2007, I woke up early. The time was around 4 am. Dlamini, one of my roommates from Swaziland, barked as he coughed. On numerous occasions, my sleep was interrupted because of his coughing. It was better when he had visited his family on certain weekends. As always, I had my alarm clock set the night before. It was still dark and very cold outside since it was winter. I went out to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I bumped into Donald À an underground mineworker from Swaziland and a famous football fanatic in the mine hostel. Donald was also brushing his teeth. I observed that there were also a few night shift workers taking a shower. 'Ishayile! (It's time to go to work!)', Donald remarked to me. 'Yah, ishayile', I responded. 'To which underground level are you descending today?' Donald asked. 'To 61 level À where I have been working [researching] since last week', I replied. Donald and I agreed that we would meet again in the kitchen for breakfast. The mine hostel was already buzzing with a horde of men walking in and out of the kitchen. I brought along my spoon with me as I grabbed a big bowl in which food was served. I joined the queue. The menu for breakfast was soft porridge, sugar, plain brown bread, boiled eggs, coffee, morvite, peanut butter and jam. I had my favourite brownish soft porridge, four slices of plain brown bread and two boiled eggs. Donald was already at the dining table having breakfast. He had also grabbed a pack of morvite for lunch. Morvite is a powdered energy-replenishing ration provided to underground workers. It is easy to prepare. Just mix with cold water. I have eaten it several times underground. It is quite filling and tasty.

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