South Africa police standoff with illegal gold miners escalates
me-metals: The South African police intensified efforts to force hundreds of illegal gold miners holed up in underground shafts to the surface so they can be arrested.
According to me-metals cited from mining.com, The police sealed off access to the Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, about 156 kilometers (97 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, several weeks ago to deny the miners access to food and other essentials. While more than 1,000 of the miners have surfaced and been detained, many more are still thought to be below ground and there are mounting fears their lives may be at risk.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that while sealing off supplies to the miners “has generated a great deal of public debate” and is “potentially volatile,” he mostly took a hard line against them because they were operating illegally and posed a risk to the economy, nearby communities and personal safety.
“The Stilfontein mine is a crime scene where the offense of illegal mining is being committed,” he said in a statement. “It is standard police practice everywhere to secure a crime scene and to block off escape routes that enable criminals to evade arrest.”
The problem of illegal mining isn’t unique to Stilfontein — there are about 6,000 abandoned mines strewn across the country and a number of them have been accessed by informal miners known locally as zama zamas. South Africa and its mining industry lose about 70 billion rand ($3.9 billion) a year to those who mine gold illegally, according to the government.
[WATCH LIVE]: A group of residents prepares to resume with an operation to rescue the sick and weak illegal miners underground the old Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stillfontein in the North West.
They have signed indemnity forms with the police.#KayaNrws PM pic.twitter.com/fCK9YKxQrA
Minerals Council South Africa, which represents the nation’s biggest mining companies, declined to comment, deferring to the police and government. The lobby group has said that illegal mining is inter-related with organized crime and that operators have links to global criminal syndicates.
source: mining.com
Related News
Top News
Australia’s CEFC invests $75m in homegrown critical minerals
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
BHP seeks Brazil growth to emerge from shadow of mining disaster
Rasul Khalife Soltani, Secretary of the Iranian Steel Producers Association on the sidelines of the 1403 Steel Symposium:
Mobarakeh steel is producing green steel through scrap recycling
Norilsk Nickel plans to sell all it produces in 2025
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Iron ore posts weekly gain as investors assess fresh Beijing stimulus
Norge Mining acquires Europe’s largest natural graphite producer
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Arcadium Lithium investors sue miner over Rio Tinto takeover
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rio Tinto, BHP, and BlueScope to build ‘green iron’ plant
Arcadium Lithium investors sue miner over Rio Tinto takeover
Skeena advances Eskay Creek permitting, unlocks Orion funding
