‘Disused mines now killing fields in SA’

Call for government to eradicate illegal syndicates

As bodies of alleged illegal miners continue to pile up with the latest discovery of seven corpses on the East Rand, police are yet to make any arrests.

Seven bodies with gunshot wounds were discovered on Sunday near an abandoned mine in Benoni.

Yesterday, police spokesman Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said no arrests had been made following Sunday’s discovery nor on any other previous cases of alleged illegal mining killings.

In March last year, 14 bodies were also found in the same area, with apparent gunshot wounds.

In July, the body of a man, suspected to be an illegal miner, was found with several gun shot wounds to his upper body in Main Reef Road, Roodeport.

A herdsman in the area where the latest bodies were found, Isaac Mohau, said the area was particularly dangerous because of gangs attempting to assert their authority over the abandoned mine.

“These people are always armed and know this area very well. They have people who are on the lookout and can see you from very far away.

“On Friday we heard a few gunshots by the shafts, but you can’t go and investigate because it is simply none of our business. I know that they are fighting among each other.”

Lead researcher at the Benchmark Foundation David van Wyk believes killings in the small-scale mining sector can be averted through regulation. “The problem is the issue of mixed syndicates. Under usual circumstances, it’s the mixed syndicates who kill miners if they don’t agree on a price on the gold mined. The formations of a central buying agency regulated by the government can easily curb the number of deaths that we see.”

He said it was difficult to make arrests in these cases because police were allegedly colluding with illegal miners.

SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) spokesman Jabu Mahlangu called for the government to eradicate syndicates. “The ruthless syndicates that have turned disused mines into killing fields must be traced and charged for the heinous crimes and horrendous acts that show they have no value for human lives.”