Johannesburg - Migrant labour in South African mines has decreased since the apartheid era, researcher Kelly Forrest said on Thursday.
"The Mining Charter and the Immigration Act have contributed to the decline in migrant labour," she said.
Forrest said that at present 30% of all workers were migrant labourers, whereas most were migrant labourers in the 1970s.
She said mining companies were opting for locals as the mines would not provide accommodation for workers.
The mining charter also compelled mining companies to contribute socially to residents where they operated mines.
Migrant labour was minimal in the Rustenburg platinum mines, where 35% of workers were from the rural Eastern Cape.