WESTONARIA – The arrest of 217 suspected illegal miners at the Losberg Kloof Mine at Westonaria in Gauteng has once more put this rife crime in the spotlight.

These arrests took place on Tuesday 7 July as part of the multidisciplinary law enforcement Operation Prosper, which targeted illegal mining activities and related criminal offences in the area. Among those arrested were illegal immigrants comprising Mozambican, Zimbabwean and Lesotho nationals. Two suspects were arrested for possession of ammunition and for aiding and abetting illegal immigrants.

Police also recovered equipment used for illegal mining, including phendukas, foodstuffs and alcohol. A 9mm pistol, two magazines and 118 rounds of AK-47 ammunition were also seized. (A phenduka is a homemade, hand-driven cylindrical machine used in informal and illegal gold mining to crush and refine gold-bearing ore.)

The operation was led by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in collaboration with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Sibanye Protection Services and Fidelity Specialised Services.

What is Operation Prosper?

Operation Prosper is a large-scale, multidisciplinary initiative by the SAPS and the SANDF aimed at dismantling organised crime, gang violence and illicit mining across South Africa. Authorised by the presidency, the operation currently functions as a high-intensity stabilisation force across mainly five provinces, tailored to the specific threats in each region.

In Gauteng, North West and the Free State there is a massive focus on cracking down on illegal mining, which includes high-profile swoops that have seized weapons, ammunition and mining equipment. In the Western and Eastern Cape, targeted deployments are undertaken to stabilise gang-ridden precincts and areas facing extortion, drug syndicates and construction mafia activities.

The scale of the problem

Illegal mining – carried out by the so-called zama zamas – is highly common and rampant in South Africa, with an estimated more than 40 000 illegal miners in the country. Driven by extreme poverty and heavily armed, the illicit industry costs the state an estimated R70 billion annually in lost gold alone and is linked to violent organised crime syndicates, according to a research article on ScienceDirect.

According to this article, it is estimated that approximately 10% of the country’s gold output, amounting to approximately R800 million per annum, is smuggled and stolen out of South Africa’s borders.

It is stated that the issue of illicit mining has been increasing across several provinces, particularly in North West, Gauteng and Free State, since early 2023.

In February this year, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe warned that illegal mining is one of the most pressing challenges facing South Africa’s mining sector – costing the economy billions in lost revenue.

Artisanal and small-scale mining, by contrast, is a legitimate and formalised economic activity, usually undertaken by citizens or legally documented residents within a regulated framework, he also said.

Impact on communities and miners

In a briefing on illegal mining by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, it was recorded that on the one hand, abandoned mines provide opportunities for unauthorised mining activities. Illegal mining poses severe risks, including environmental degradation, safety hazards and socio-economic challenges such as crime and exploitation. In the areas where these illegal miners operate, an atmosphere of fear and insecurity is experienced by community members. It is described as holding communities hostage and threatening public safety.

On the other hand, illegal miners operate in abandoned, disused and sometimes deep mining shafts that are filled with “danger, mud, rats, lice and misery. Turf wars with rival gangs, health hazards, insecurity and illegalities such as the use of child labour, drug abuse, alcoholism, murders, extortions, violence and incessant battles with the police and security personnel also mar the mining process,” according to ScienceDirect. The practice is perilous, with illegal miners operating in hazardous, unregulated conditions prone to underground fires and ground collapses. The operations also cause severe ecological degradation, including heavy soil erosion and toxic water contamination from chemical use like mercury and cyanide.

It is estimated that roughly 80% are undocumented migrants from neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mozambique.

Mantashe also said a review of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) is under way, seeking to formalise artisanal and small-scale mining, prohibit illegal mining and criminalise the transportation and trade of minerals without prescribed documentation.

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