The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has expressed concern over the arrest of more than 500 illegal miners operating at the Sheba gold mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga.
The police nabbed 24 more people who resurfaced on Monday, bringing the total number of arrested illegal miners to 518.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli confirmed that a firearm with ammunition was recovered from one of the illegal miners who has been arrested and will be charged for illegal possession of an unlicensed firearm with ammunition.
NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said the presence of illegal miners has placed their members in danger and created a hostile working environment.
Taking legitimate workers’ food by force
Mammburu told Sunday World that their members on the ground have reported that they are harassed by illegal miners that they would meet underground, who would often forcefully take their meals.
“However, the management would then accuse our members of selling food to these illegal miners for their upkeep. They are aware of the dangerous situations caused by illegal miners, but they have not done much to curb illegal mining.
“Instead, they recently retrenched 200 miners due to illegal mining, and they are replacing these permanent positions with contractors. Our people are losing benefits, and the mine management knows the true cause but is doing little to nothing to protect workers’ safety and jobs,” said Mammburu.
He said the mine also dismissed their mine captain allegedly because of involvement in illegal mining at Sheba.
Mammburu also said union members on the ground alleged that authorities and some of the company management officials were also involved in these illegal activities.
He emphasised that NUM was against illegal mining, not only because they are threatening legitimate jobs, but also because they are often linked to crimes that happen in their local areas.
He said illegal mining is often associated with rape and the abuse of people in local areas.
Illegal mining out of hand in province
Mammburu said Mpumalanga needed serious intervention because illegal mining in the province was rife and attracted by the quality of the gold produced at the mines.
“It is not safe to work alongside authorities, an illegal mining boss mysteriously disappeared during Stilfontein operations in the heavy presence of the police. NUM has proposed that artisanal mining should be regulated by ensuring that all things are done legally.
“The department of mineral resources should actually sit down with unions and community members to find solutions to this crisis,” said Mammburu.
