JAMES GORDON: SA needs a joined-up approach to artisanal and illegal mining
System-level security, dismantling organised crime and a regulated artisanal sector are necessary
A belated — and bloody — security response to the entrenched problem of illegal gold mining is not enough to stop it. Indeed, the danger now is that the SA Police Service (SAPS) reins in its anti-illegal mining Operation Vala Umgodi, judging that more negative publicity from further mine site actions would be too costly. This would come as a huge blow to the legal mining industry, which has for years urged the government to act against the illegal miners who, in areas such as the West Rand, make it extremely difficult for regulated mining companies to operate.
The problem with a purely security response to such a multifaceted problem is that, as with counterinsurgency fighting, it is difficult to distinguish the really bad guys from the rest, and so accusations of the use of indiscriminate force are almost inevitable. Furthermore, the police operation simply does not have the resources to cover all illegal mining sites across the country at the same time. As the Americans lear...
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