Depot processing Green Chert mined illegally
PIGG’S PEAK – Local buyers of illegally mined Green Chert are increasing in the country.
This publication has gathered that the rock, which is known to be found locally at Malolotja Nature Reserve, is being illegally mined on a massive scale. In the past, it was illegally mined by unauthorised miners popularly known as Zama Zamas.
However, some of the Zama Zamas, who spoke on condition of anonymity, decried that they were being arrested yet the rock was being mined without any valid licence. This publication established that in the last two months, two trucks reportedly entered Malolotja, using the main entrance and were loaded with the gemstone.
frustrated by the competition, blew the whistle.
The two vehicles that were impounded by the police recently included a mini truck that was detained in July 2022 and two people subsequently arrested while a much larger truck was impounded on August 3, 2022. The mini truck was found with 2 000 kilogrammes of the Green Chert stone.
No one was arrested in the August 3 incident as the driver and others who were in the truck fled.
In addition to the trucks being impounded, several people usually get arrested for loading the Green Chert monthly.
This has been a continuous cat-and-mouse relationship between the rangers and the illegal miners despite the presence of soldiers tasked to guard the rock due to its theft.
Noteworthy, the Green Chert rocks are located in an inaccessible area that even high-powered vehicles cannot reach; however, illegal miners usually work in groups of about 30 to 40 and carry the rocks in specially made backpacks. The illegal miners carry as much as 12 kilogrammes at a go and this is then delivered to a usually waiting vehicle.
This publication also gathered that the vehicles that were impounded were loaded with the rock while within the premises of the mine. Some of the Zama Zamas alleged that it would be impossible for the illegal miners to transport the Green Chert to the vehicle outside the nature reserve.
Vehicles
“The vehicles are usually driven in,” disclosed one of the miners, who admitted he had been arrested before but would not stop mining as the business was lucrative.
The latest truck to be impounded is said to have been an eight-tonne truck that was found less than 200 metres from the main gate of Malolotja Nature Reserve.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed that a truck had been impounded but did not give any further details. This publication further gathered that the truck was taken for weighing at the police station on August 5, 2022, two days after it was impounded.
It was gathered that unlike in the past when illegal miners would cross into South Africa (SA) to sell the rock, the buyers were now situated in the country.
It is further claimed that there is a depot situated in the Manzini Region where the rock is properly packaged before being taken out of the country for the Asian market.
Green Chert is used to make jewellery and is also used by high-end buyers in the construction industry.