Illegal mining is a pandemic and is hurting SA, says David Mabuza

Deputy President David Mabuza on Thursday told the National Assembly that the government would nip illegal mining in the bud while it’s still in its infancy.

“We request our communities to work with the government to ensure we deal with this because it’s becoming a pandemic. Every day you learn about people being killed in these illegal activities, so the government is going to stamp its authority and get this thing right.”

Responding to questions and answers in parliament, Mabuza said the police had arrested more than 4,675 illegal miners, closed 135 mining holes and were closing decommissioned mines.

“We are pooling all our resources to nip this in the bud. It’s important that we stop it because people are stealing our revenue.

“These minerals that are stolen should give us revenue to be used to develop our country, so we must deal strongly with these illegal practices.”

Mabuza’s comments come after the discovery of the bodies of six men believed to be zama zamas in open veld next to the N1 freeway near Bosmont and New Canada, Johannesburg, on Wednesday morning.

Mabuza told MPs the government has taken various measures — through the justice, crime prevention and security cluster — to deal with the economic crimes that are hurting the mining environment and economy.  

“The problem of illegal mining has grown to such a point that it’s a major source of concern not only for the government but also for the mining industry and communities close to these illegal operations.”

He said during the recent two-day cabinet lekgotla, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the executive was given an update from the justice, crime prevention and security cluster on measures taken to combat criminality in areas close to illegal mine operations.

“At the lekgotla we agreed that illegal mining, not only has a detrimental effect on the economy and the way that people make a living but it also puts the safety of the environment and national security of the country in jeopardy.”

On August 11 this year at a briefing by the ministers of police, home affairs, mineral resources and energy, Mabuza told the National Council of Provinces that a special task team was established by the police in 2019 to tackle illegal mining.

“To date, the police have confirmed the arrests of more than 4,675 illegal miners. Furthermore, an existing multidisciplinary economic infrastructure task team of various specialised units of the police, in partnership with private security and business, is working to prevent and combat the critical economic and infrastructure-related crimes, including illicit mining.”

Mabuza said a similar unit was established in KwaZulu-Natal in June 2022, contributing to eliminating extortions at economic infrastructure sites.

“The justice, crime prevention and security cluster has also developed a strategy that will focus on combating activities in both formal and informal settlements.”

The strategy, he said, included tighter intelligence gathering and co-ordination, intensification of police visibility mechanisms and tightening of mechanisms aimed at disruption of organised and stubborn crime.

To ensure the continued health of the economy, Mabuza said, it was important to preserve mining infrastructure.

“We also need to close the taps because for these children to be actively involved in illegal mining means there are buyers somewhere, so we need to discontinue this very unsafe process of mining.”

Mabuza said the government should ensure that all illegal miners are arrested and “in that way, you break the chain”.

“Let’s not allow any illegal mining to happen because this is a crime. These are mining enterprises that have been left, they are not safe and people die there, so we cannot in any way legalise illegal mining.

“They need to be closed down, rehabilitated and the land put to good use for agricultural purposes. We need to protect the mining sector before it becomes an endemic problem.”

Mabuza said because mining is the backbone of the South African economy, it is important to protect it from “unscrupulous mining companies”.

“We are going to enforce [the rule] that when you are done with mining, you must rehabilitate the soil and leave it at a stage where it is almost usable again.”