Police said on Friday that about 1,000 unspecmik migrants working illegally in a gold mine in South Africa have been arrested.
Public Broadcaster SABC said that the police started an operation called Operation Valla Umgodi at Sheeba Gold Mine in Barberton, Mapumlanga province.
SABC, citing a police spokesperson, said that those arrested were doing underground work in the mine, which is close to the boundaries of Eswatini and Mozambique.
The spokesman said that they are candles for breaking immigration laws and possibly illegal mining.
A police statement posted on Facebook said that some of the arrested people were “younger age.”
The AFP News Agency, citing the current police spokespersons, said that the miners took about a week to score. Police said more arrests could be made.
The owner of the mine, Barberton Mines, said in a statement that “illegal mining would not be tolerated, welcoming the arrest.”
A similar operation to route illegal miners took place in 2024 when the police surrounded the abandoned gold mine near Stillfonne in the west of Johannesburg. Cutting the supply to force illegal miners to surrender.
The deadlock lasted for months and in January, the police raided the mine, resulting in dozens of miners.
What is Shiba Gold Mine?
Sheeba was founded in the 1880s and is one of the oldest and richest gold mines in South Africa.
This played an important role in the country’s early gold crowd, which attracts prospectors and shapes the mining heritage of the region.
Today, the mine is on, but is a massive issue with high cost and theft of gold, which has been motivated to restructure the operation to remain wasted.
Illegal mining problem of South Africa
There are about 6,000 abandoned mines in South Africa, many of which have become hotspots for illegal activity.
Illegal miners in South Africa are known as Zama-Zamas (take a chance), which work in abandoned or operating mines using basic equipment and methods.
Many come from neighboring countries; The rest of the unemployed are made up of South African people, who turn to illegal mining after the deposter of the formal mining sector.
Edited by: Jennifer Camino Gonzalez
