A deep undercurrent of corruption coupled with a lack of policing and prosecutorial skills have allowed illegal gold mining syndicates to run rampant in SA’s gold mines, says Sibanye Gold security head Nash Lutchman. Illegal mining costs the country about R20bn a year in lost sales, taxes and royalties. Sibanye recently had 461 illegal miners arrested at its four Cooke mines near Johannesburg. "The syndicates are having a field day. They are laughing all the way to the bank. We don’t have sufficiently trained police to deal with this type of mining-related crime. Our National Prosecution Authority lacks the particular skills to prosecute this," Lutchman said. "The general corruption at the lower levels in the South African Police Service and private security contributes a lot to nothing being done to stop this," he said, adding that employees and mine security personnel were worsening the problem by smuggling food underground and aiding illegal miners.
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