Illegal mining has been rife in the Barberton area for a long time, and an increasing number of arrests
have been made in the past year. Since September last year, 4000 arrests were made.
This is according to Barberton Mines‘s press statement released following the arrests of illegal miners during an operation a week ago.
The mine says illegal miners gain access to old areas of the mine and set up camps, away from working areas. These areas were difficult to access previously due to safety concerns and because illegals used improvised explosives to keep security away.
This culminated in last week’s week long operation at Sheba Mine, where mine security teams and the national police’s Vala Umgodi deployment. The operation was a joint initiative between the South African Police Service and the Barberton Mines security team. The operation was a success with illegal mining in the area dealt a major blow. Barberton Mines combats illegal mining on a continuous basis and at great expense, to the benefit of all legitimate stakeholders in the Barberton area.
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“Following the retrieval of illegal mining groups (which was initially estimated at 1000 by the police but it was actually around 500 –this has caused confusion, as many assumed that around 500 people were still underground. Police arrested and processed 497 illegal miners, (not the one thousand originally reported), the majority of which are foreign nationals. This was followed by a further 30 and 29 on Monday and Tuesday.”
“We believe that the underground camps that were established over time have been destroyed and the numbers being found now are recent entrants from the numerous entry points on the mountain. They are found underground as it is difficult for them to exit from where they have come in.”
The statement further reads that there are abandoned areas underground that are unsafe for security personnel to enter. Illegals may temporarily hide there, but will eventually need to exit, and can then be arrested.
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“The police and mine security management had a debriefing session on Monday, August 4 to share information on ways the next such operation can be planned and improved. The Vala Umgodi police deployment also confirmed that they will continue to be deployed at the mine for the next month.
“The mine’s security operations (surface and underground) are continuing without disruption. It can be confirmed that both the mine’s security teams and security control room continue to sweep all the underground operations and that there are no large groups of illegal miners still present underground, as reported by the media,” reads the statement.
