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GOLD RUSH: Illegal miners search for gold particles at the closed Bambanani Mine in Welkom. Sixteen suspected gold dealers appeared in the Bloemfontein High Court yesterday. PHOTO: NTWAAGAE SELEKA

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Two other suspects - a couple - did not show up. Judge JP Daffue told the accused that the trial could not be heard because Sifelane Msimango had died in an accident in Bothaville on Monday night.

His wife Bulelwa Somhlahlo, 39, could also not attend as she was mourning her husband's death.

Judge Daffue ordered that Msimango and Somhlahlo's bail would be temporarily forfeited and later issued a temporary warrant of arrest until next week when the 16 suspects are expected to appear in court.

The reasons why the bail should not be forfeited by the state and why the suspects should not be re-arrested would be heard next week. The investigating team must hand over passports of Msimango's three brothers - Sibusiso, 34, Rise, 31 and MacDonald, 28 - in order to attend their brother's funeral in Zimbabwe.

The suspects are facing 133 charges that include theft of gold, possession of gold, money laundering and racketeering.

The Msimango brothers are alleged to be ringleaders and key players in the offence and they had used their Tabana Trust Fund during the commission of the offences.

It is alleged that the men recruited the other suspects. Among the suspects are Christian Lunga, 54, a security guard at Harmony Gold Mine in Welkom and Clement Nkhi, 35, an employee at the mine.

The syndicate allegedly operated between 1999 and 2008 when they were arrested.

They operated in Johannesburg, Springs, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging in Gauteng, Klerksdorp, Orkney and Potchefstroom in North West, and in Kroonstad, Virginia, Bloemfontein, Wesselsbron, Welkom, Ventersburg and Hennenman in Free State.

Lunga, Nkhi, Somhlahlo, Sylvester Mahamo, 26, Sicelosenkosi Mthimkulu, 25, Meshack Sithole, 28, Adoons Knight Bita, 30, Tshediso Ramabele, 33, Charles and Lucky Sithole aged 25 and 33 respectively, Seatile Khabe, 26, and Moroesi Msimango, 30, were recruited to either obtain unprocessed gold, racketeering, laundering. Some of the Msimango brothers' assets were registered in their names.

Bita, Mahamo and Mthimkulu were remanded in custody while the other suspects' bail was extended.

The suspects are expected to appear again in court on Monday.

Last week Sowetan published reports highlighting the lives of illegal miners, otherwise known as zama zamas, in Welkom.

Emergency personnel rescued 22 illegal miners who were trapped underground in a disused mine in Welkom and an undisclosed number of other illegal miners were reported to have died underground. - ntwagaes@sowetan.co.za

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Sun May 19 16:36:11 SAST 2013 ::

Jun 6, 2012

guiliano

Its called nationalization of mines whats wrong with that?
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Jun 6, 2012

Bdoobs

Nobody was born with gold in their pockets, we are sons and daughters of the soil, let my people go.
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Jun 6, 2012

rasefatee

juju's gang
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Jun 6, 2012

Up-Stream

Actually this so called ILLEGAL PROCESSING AND DEALING in gold and other non-harmful minerals should be dumped into the dust bin of greed. The world belong to us all and whoever can find a stone it belongs to that person who find it finish n klaar man. Stop this rubbish of persecuting people for nothing! Except when they have stolen from someone's property.
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Jun 6, 2012

Afrojoy

@Up-Stream and Bdoobs

You guys are 100% correct. Its sad that in a country where employemnt figures are low, our government finds it proper to prosecute its own people who are trying to eke a living out of resources under their won soil. It's our country, its our land, its our resources. Let our people exploit their resources in their lifetime. How do you thing De Beers started? By starting small....

The legislation should be changed to accommodate more small scale indegenous miners...a certain portion of resource of a certain size should be mined by these guys. The government and IDC should set aside funds for access by these guys....and the private sector must come in and help with training for these guys in sustainable and more environmentally friendly mining and rehabilitation. Lets support our own black indegenous small scale miners and not shut them out so that the Anglos and De beers keep getting richer. At least these guys are not BEE, they are simple people starting their own operations from scratch.
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Jun 6, 2012

Tasto

Zimbabweans mining our mines cause mugabe uyanyisa yena !! Welcome to gansta paradise the anc goverment does not know what theya re doing and ppl arre watching foreigners steal the wealth or is just the colour of the foreigners confuses the lot !!
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Jun 6, 2012

Shredder

The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
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Jun 6, 2012

shaharazad

I used to work at WDL gold mine, and believe me, processing gold is not mickey-mouse business. There are many complicated stages and processes before getting to the real thing. Have they got caustic cynide, HCL and other volitile compounds/ chemicals to extract gold? SA gold is not like the American Mid-west panning stations. Oh, I dont care who's mining it, it will always be there long time after we gone
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Jun 6, 2012

shaharazad

Shredder, you've lost me there. Chapter & Verse?? Phew!!
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Jun 6, 2012

Bebesocs

this reminds me of Sierra Leone, mhhhhhhh.
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