Small-scale miners call on govt to issue them with licenses

More than 900 suspected illegal miners have been arrested between December last year and January this year in Limpopo. The suspected illegal miners were arrested during police’s operation Vala Umgodi across the province.

Meanwhile, mining forums in the mineral-rich Sekhukhune district are calling on the government to issue them with artisanal mining licenses.

The forum’s believe the ongoing illegal mining activities is due to the government’s refusal to issue them with small-scale mining licenses.

The mountain valleys of Sekhukhune district are home to various minerals, including chrome and platinum.

The mineral-rich district has attracted hundreds seeking a fortune.

The mountains are now full of open cast trenches dug by suspected illegal miners.

In 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the deployment of the soldiers to help police curb illegal mining activities in the country.

Some heavy mining trucks used in illegal operations have been seized by law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, Sekhukhune mining forum representatives, Edward Phasha and Justice Serakotela, say if the government issued them with small mining licenses, it could help stop illegal mining.

“We want the government to initiate a programme whereby they are going to issue the permits of small-scale miners and then at the end of the day, they induct us on how we are going to mine safely and how we are going to rehabilitate,” says Phasha.

“The problem is that we formed our structure and we applied for license and DMRE rejected us and now some are now mining illegally and they sell the chrome to the Chinese. We, as the children of the soil, we cannot mine on our own soil. We want the president to form a task team that will come here and teach us how we can mine so we can be like big companies,” says Serakotela.

Police spokesperson, Hlulani Mashaba says about 932 suspected illegal miners have been arrested within a month across the province.

Mashaba says they also confiscated fire-arms and ammunition from the suspected illegal miners.

Those arrested are facing various charges.

“We have been working very hard to combat illegal mining activities in Sekhukhune, Vhembe, and Mopani. We have managed to arrest 932 suspects from the first of December up until the 12th of January. Out of the 932, 496 are undocumented foreign nationals,” he says.

The mining sector in Limpopo contributes about 30% of the provincial Growth Domestic Product (GDP).

The provincial government wants the minerals to be processed for local beneficiation.

Limpopo Premier, Doctor Phophi Ramathuba, says, “We have already met with different captains of industries, one of the sectors we have been meeting is within the mining sector. We are saying it is good that mining is contributing to the GDP of the province, but we are saying we need to stop exporting raw materials as they are.”

Police are also tracking a suspected illegal mining kingpin involved in the smuggling of gold and chrome.

Amongst those arrested includes some foreign nationals.