Tonnes of illegally mined chrome recovered in Limpopo

Stockpiles of illegally mined chromium have been recovered by the police and army in the latest incident involving Operation Vala Umgodi.

Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba revealed on Tuesday that they pounced on a mining site in Limpopo before the valuable metal could be removed by illegal miners.

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“The team comprising of various South African Police Service (Saps) units, South African National Defence Force (SANDF), and National Intervention Unit (NIU) in collaboration with private security received information that illegal miners created stockpiles of chrome on top of the mountain for the trucks to come and collect,” Ledwaba said.

A massive haul

“The team operationalised the information and went to Diphale illicit mining site and the stockpiles of chrome were indeed found on top of the mountain,” said Ledwaba.

He said the team made arrangements to bring down the chrome and moved it to a safer place.

Equipment that was recovered includes:

• A generator
• An electrical cable
• A blue mining helmet
• A wheelbarrow
• A drilling bit.

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Ledwaba said two suspects were arrested for illegal mining and violation of the Immigration Act. They will appear before Mecklenburg Magistrate’s Court soon. Police investigations are continuing.

Foreign nationals work with local, legitimate miners

Last week, it was noted that Odendaalsrus in the Free State, like other mining towns, is seeing an increase in organised crime due to illegal mining, mostly by foreign nationals working with legitimate miners to steal gold and gold-related materials.

Two of these foreign nations are Taelo Manuel Mmereko, 39, and Koketso Azaih Futho, 39, from Lesotho, who were convicted and sentenced to 45 years of direct imprisonment for murder, attempted murder, possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, and illegal immigration.

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