South African police have arrested approximately 1,000 undocumented migrants involved in illegal gold mining operations in Mpumalanga province, in a sweeping crackdown aimed at dismantling the illicit mining network thriving underground. The week-long operation, which began on Monday, was conducted near the village of Barberton, close to the Eswatini and Mozambique borders.
According to police spokesperson Donald Mdhluli, the arrests are part of a joint effort between law enforcement and Barberton Mines security. “As they are coming out, they have been taken,” Mdhluli stated, indicating that more arrests may follow as additional illegal miners are believed to still be underground.
The focal point of the operation was the Sheba Mine, owned by Barberton Mines. Earlier this year, the company faced criticism after retrenching workers due to financial losses and looming closure. However, following this week’s discoveries, the company issued a statement explaining that illegal mining had significantly contributed to the mine’s lack of profitability.
“Food and supplies have been getting to a thriving illegal mining world underground, which had to be stopped,” the company noted. “This message needs to be spread and illegal mining will not be tolerated.”
The police surrounded the illegal mining sites to cut off supplies, forcing the miners to surface. Authorities have confirmed that there were no fatalities during the operation, a stark contrast to a similar crackdown less than a year ago near Stilfontein, west of Johannesburg, where at least 90 clandestine miners died before those operations were permanently shut down in January.
Illegal mining, commonly referred to as “zama-zama” in South Africa, continues to pose serious safety, economic, and environmental challenges. The practice is often dominated by undocumented immigrants and is linked to organized crime syndicates, which smuggle gold out of the country, resulting in massive revenue losses.
Authorities have vowed to continue targeting illegal mining networks and emphasized that law enforcement efforts will be intensified to restore order and ensure the safety of both legal mine operations and surrounding communities.
