Johannesburg - Mine Rescue Services South Africa (MRS) plans to become the “911” of underground incidents in the country’s mining industry.
The 92-year-old NGO, which was involved in recovering the bodies of illegal mineworkers in a disused shaft in Langlaagte, south of Johannesburg, two weeks ago, said it was concerned about the spike in illegal mining.
MRS chief executive Christo de Klerk warned yesterday that illegal mining was spiralling out of control and getting worse by the day.
De Klerk said the proliferation of illegal miners, known as “zama zamas”, had spiked over the past 10 years.
He said the situation now required urgent government intervention, adding that the organisation had rescued 12 illegal miners and recovered 22 bodies last year.
“Government has to control our borders especially the inflow of illegal immigrants,” De Klerk said.
“Too many illegal miners come from neighbouring countries to find work but find there is no work when they get here.”
The majority of illegal miners were immigrants from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho, noted De Klerk.
“When we speak to them they say the money they make underground is worth the risk,” De Klerk said as he displayed gruesome pictures and videos of lifeless bodies of illegal mineworkers from previous rescue missions by the MRS.
He said illegal miners were working for syndicates who were responsible for providing a market for the illegal miners.
“If there is no market for gold the illegal miners will not mine. They (government) need to infiltrate the syndicate behind the illegal mining.”
There are currently around 6 000 abandoned mines in South Africa.
Experts claim that illegal mining costs the fiscus R6 billion a year and is spread across commodities in abandoned gold mine shafts.
If found, illegal miners paid a R50 admission of guilt fee in the past but with the new and stringent laws they now pay between R3 000 and R6 000.
De Klerk said the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) had closed hundreds of holes between Benoni and Randfontein but illegal miners had managed to access old and abandoned mines by re-opening the holes armed with only picks and shovels.
He said the miners were vulnerable to fall-of-ground accidents as mines did not have support structures, adding that factions among illegal miners were common amid fights over territory.
“You get factions in the underground shafts. As they come from the underground shafts they are ambushed and killed and their gold is stolen,” said De Klerk.
MRS volunteers required the assistance of illegal miners to rescue the miners’ trapped colleagues.
“We are guided by illegal miners to lead us to their trapped colleagues. We cannot operate without their help. However, 90 percent of the information from illegal miners is incorrect because they fear being prosecuted,” said De Klerk.
De Klerk said MRS personnel were a special breed as they risked their lives to save others. “We will save lives whether it is illegal or legal miners. We are highly trained and have good equipment to do our work,” De Klerk said.
Mike Teke, the president of the Chamber of Mines, said illegal mining was getting out of hand.
“The problem is getting worse every day in both abandoned and operational mines,” said Teke.
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