Illegal mining – a death trap

Dean Millar, 55, National Security and Industrial Relation Manager at Jonrik Mining and Engineering has been fighting illegal mining for the past eight years.

He wishes to change the mindset of those being lured into illegal mining.

Millar has spoken at various large conferences such as the 3rd Annual Mine Security and Safety Africa Conference as well as the 2nd African Mine Security Summit 2015.

He has done various presentations on illegal mining and continues to do so. Millar has been involved hands-on in underground operations to combat illegal mining.

He once spent seven weeks underground during which he apprehended approximately 500 illegal miners.

Millar explained that illegal mining is an industry within an industry and it is becoming a national crisis, with even the United Nations getting involved. Millar’s passion is to inform illegal miners of the dangers of this industry.

He named the following dangers:

• Physically, illegal mining holds a huge danger as the areas they work in are extremely unsafe, always prone to rockfalls. Continuous blasting makes the ground unstable.

• The underground gases and the exposure to mercury are extremely detrimental to their health.

• It holds a safety threat to the miner’s family. If the miner want to abandon illegal mining, he and his family usually get threats and in some cases they are harmed.

• Many illegal miners that are lured into the industry suffer malnutrition.

• If something would happen to them, it would never be made known, as they have no identity document and many of them are foreigners.

• They are promised huge amounts of money, but these promises remain empty as the amounts they are paid are not sufficient to justify the dangers and hardship they have to endure.

• Other dangers include explosions, sexually transmitted diseases and exhaustion.

• Illegal mining affects the local economy, and mines lose up to R12 billion a year.

• The different levels in this criminal network are the criminal miner, gang leaders, the syndicate and international exporters.

• The illegal miner, right at the bottom of the network, endures all the dangers and suffering, while the syndicates profit most.

• Illegal miners neither are given safety equipment, hard hats or medical care.

• Illegal miners spend up to six months underground.

• Firearms are kept underground.

Another problem associated with illegal mining is legal miners helping the illegal miners, making it easier for them to continue their criminal activity. Legal miners will charge illegal miners up to R500 for a loaf of bread.

Legal miner also are intimidated by these criminals. They create great danger for the legal miners as their illegal blasting causes the ground to become unstable.

Unfortunately illegal mining starts on the ground where security officers and staff from other departments are involved in this criminal network.

“There are also a lot of bribing and selling of jobs. Many illegal miners are recruited from Mohlakeng, Simunye and Bekkersdal.

“These syndicates are highly organised and very dangerous.

“Unemployed and desperate workers should think twice before even considering illegal mining,” Millar said.

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