SA is failing in the battle against illegal mining, say experts

Experts say we are losing the fight against illegal mining despite police reactive responses and task teams.

On Wednesday six bodies, some mutilated and believed to be zama zamas (illegal miners), were found scattered along the N1 highway, near Maraisburg offramp.

ALSO READ: ‘Gunshots ring through the night’: Zama zama infighting suspected as bodies found near Maraisburg offramp

Last month hundreds of illegal miners were arrested in the West Rand after the horrific gang rape incident at a mine dump in Krugersdorp.

Deputy President David Mabuza responded to questions about the illegal mining in the National Assembly yesterday, saying all illegal miners should be arrested to cut the chain.

He said illegal mining had a detrimental effect on the economy, posed a threat to the safety of the environment and put the national security of the country in jeopardy.

“The Special Task Team established by police in 2019 to tackle illegal mining confirmed the arrest of 4 675 illegal miners.

They have also closed 135 mining holes and are in the process of closing decommissioned mines,” said Mabuza.

He said to ensure the continued health of the economy it was essential to take measures to preserve mining infrastructure and other types of infrastructure.

“Government was looking at beneficiation of mineral resources that can take children who are illegally risking their lives to find minerals. If these young children can be redirected into processes of beneficiations of this mineral, it could save them and create much-needed jobs.

But we also need to close the tap. Because for these children to be involved in illegal mining means there is a buyer somewhere,” he said, adding that illegal mining was a crime.

Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng spokesperson on infrastructure Nico de Jager said the issue of illegal mining wasn’t going away soon and the embassies and the department of home affairs had to get involved.

“It’s not just zama zamas, it’s waste collectors too, they were also a majority of foreigners,” De Jager said, adding that most were undocumented, untraceable and hard to monitor.

He said the other problem was that some illegal miners went underground and returned empty-handed and desperate, thus turning to crime.

Action Society’s Ian Cameron said we were not winning the fight.

“If you look at the police report on Wednesday morning about several arrests in and around illegal mining operations in Gauteng, there is no point in arresting foot soldiers,” he said.

Cameron said foot soldiers often got bail and if not were replaced by other miners. He said there were shafts with thousands of illegal miners operating inside.

“We need to chop the snake’s head off. It’s good to combat the guys on ground level but you need to cut off the source, the main source of income and take out the kingpins,” he said.

“If you don’t do that, then all the operations to combat the illegal mining on ground level is just a smoke screen because nothing was going to change.”

Rural criminologist Dr Witness Maluleke said illegal mining was a well-organised network involving many layers with sophisticated methods of operations.

“Contact and property-related crimes and sexual offences, including prostitution, rape and illegal trading, as well as illegal occupation of land are some of the criminal enterprises associated with illegal mining,” he said.

“The war against illegal mining will take a multidisciplinary approach …”

– marizkac@citizen.co.za