Picture of arrested illegal miners, popularly known as zama-zamas, during a takedown operation in Krugersdorp and Randfontein, 2023. Image: Hawks via IOL.
(The Post News)– Over the weekend, the South African Police Service (SAPS) announced three separate busts across Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the Northern Cape, leading to the arrest of 497 individuals. The increased frequency and urgency of these operations reflect the devastating impact illegal mining has on communities, the environment, and the economy.
On Friday, 1 August, SAPS announced the retrieval of 1,000 illegal miners and undocumented immigrants at the Sheba Gold Mine near Barberton, Mpumalanga.
However, on Saturday, the Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Jackie Macie, confirmed that only 478 of those retrieved were formally arrested, all alleged to be undocumented foreign nationals.
That same day, SAPS also announced the arrest of a 48-year-old male illegal miner in Tweefontein and 8 illegal miners in Kleinzee and Kennelworth Camp (Northern Cape). In the Northern Cape operation, they also arrested 10 illegal immigrants working as security guards.
These arrests are part of Operation Vala Umgodi, a nationwide initiative launched by SAPS in partnership with departments like the SANDF and Hawks to dismantle illegal mining syndicates in hotspot provinces. In these syndicates, it is not uncommon to find undocumented foreign nationals alongside vulnerable or rather impoverished locals as key players looking for an income despite the risks and dangers involved.
These risks and dangers include frequent exposure to hazardous underground conditions, a lack of safety regulations, and being under constant threat from SAPS or rivals. Fatal accidents due to cave-ins, suffocation, and toxic gas inhalation are not unheard of in these abandoned or unregulated mining shafts.
The environmental toll is also severe, as illegal mining often involves destructive practices such as unregulated blasting and the use of toxic substances like mercury to extract gold. These methods contaminate rivers and soils, cause sinkholes due to land degradation, lead to biodiversity loss, and pollute nearby water sources.
Illegal mining operations are also dangerous for nearby communities. Turf wars between rival syndicates often erupt, and innocent community members have gotten caught in the crossfire. MEC Macie has called on the public to assist: “We also want communities to refrain from accommodating zama-zamas [illegal miners], but rather report them to the police,” he urged.
journalist-lukhona@thepostnews.net
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