Anti-illegal mining operation in Orkney 'bearing fruit', say police

Nearly 700 zama zamas starved of supplies resurface due to hunger

Police say Operation Vala Umgodi teams stationed at abandoned shafts that are used to take food down to illegal miners is the reason hundreds of hungry zama zamas whose supply had suddenly been cut off had to resurface to the ground where they were later arrested.

Over the past few days, the starving and dehydrated illegal miners who could no longer stay underground came out in numbers because teams stationed outside at the shafts arrested anyone with food and also confiscated it.

By Tuesday, almost 700 illegal miners had come out at abandoned shafts in Orkney.

Those who displayed signs of weak health were attended to by paramedics on the scene.

Spokesperson for North West police Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said it is not yet known how many illegal miners were still underground.

However, he said, police were made to believe that there are levels underground. The ones who emerged are from a particular level hence the true number of those still underground is still not known, he said.

"Operation Vula Umgodi identified shafts that were being used to supply these illegal miners with food. We then posted people there and supply was stopped as no one was now going in and out.

"Without the supply of stock, they decided to come out."

Operation Vula Umgodi comprises the police, SA National Defence Force, and department of home affairs in collaboration with private security companies.

According to Mokgwabone, the people arrested are from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. 

National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said North West, Gauteng, Free State and Limpopo provinces were battling illegal mining.

"Many illegal mining sites are located in rugged, mountainous or dense forest areas, making access extremely challenging. Illegal miners are also targeting dilapidated mineshafts which pose safety risks to both the illegal miners and surrounding communities.”

Mathe said two weeks ago, police had to stop a group of people who were on their way to supply illegal miners with food in North West. They even put rocks on the roads after police barred them from handing out supplies to the zama zamas operating underground.

Officers confiscated the food stocks in the back of a bakkie.

Illegal miners are also targeting dilapidated mineshafts which pose safety risks to both the illegal miners and surrounding communities.Brig Athlenda Mathe

"Another challenge for the police is that some community members aid the illegal miners. In September 2024, police arrested a 65-year-old homeowner and a 31-year-old accomplice. The homeowner allowed the illegal miners to gain entry to the Khuseleka mine shaft in Rustenburg by digging a hole from the home in Nkandla informal settlement," she said.

Recently, the Free State Vala Umgodi team arrested a contract worker after finding that he had sellotaped food on his body and covered it with clothes to take it underground undetected to sell to illegal miners. Another one was found with bottles of cough mixture.

The same team had a few months ago arrested another man who had a small packet of peanut butter with a R2,000 price tag as part of the food he was going to sell underground.

According to a police officer based in Gauteng, selling food for illegal miners is a lucrative business for many people hence they hike the prices but is not an easy one.

The officer, who asked to remain anonymous as he is not allowed to speak to the media, said even getting to where the illegal miners are operating is not easy as the "hawkers" have to pay a "security guard" at the entrance of the shaft to be able to go down and sell their wares.

Another thing, he said, there is a lot of travel involved.

"For example, the illegal miners may be in Krugersdorp and the entry point is at Golf Reef City so they have to walk a long distance with the food they're selling as well as cigarettes and batteries as those are also needed for light.

"It's entirely another community down there," he said.

Mathe said factors such as poverty, unemployment and porous borders were driving forces for illegal mining in the country.

"Majority of the arrested suspects are foreign nationals from various countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Ethiopia. The SAPS is tightening its grip on all its borderlines and members remain on the ground to prevent and combat illegal mining activities," she said.

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