Deadly illegal mining ‘on the rise’
The municipality in Limpopo is struggling to curtail operations and encourage communities to apply for permits
More than 70 people involved in illegal mining activities have been killed along the Dilokong corridor in the mining town of Burgersfort in Limpopo, according to the Fetakgomo — Greater Tubatse Local Municipality. While some of those killed were shot during deadly turf wars with other illegal miners, others died during accidents at the unsafe makeshift operations that are prevalent in the mineral-rich area. For close to 20 years, illegal mining has been a challenge for law enforcement authorities and mining companies operating in the eastern limb of the bushveld complex. Last week, four alleged illegal miners died when a dump truck overturned at an illegal operation in Maandagshoek. Thabiso Mokoena, the municipality’s communications manager, told Business Day the most they could do to deal with the illegal mining and the fatalities was encourage the communities to apply for small-scale mining permits. In his 2017 paper on the status of artisanal and small-scale mining in SA, Pontsho...
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