The police in Gauteng and Limpopo arrested illegal miners over the weekend during operations aimed at clamping down illegal mining. In Krugersdorp, two suspects aged 22 and 23 were arrested in the Hekpoort area while a further two suspects were arrested and charged with illegal mining in Bergenek outside Polokwane.

ARMED

The police say that they received information about zama zama activity at a farm in Hekpoort after following up on information with the help of a security company.Hekpoort police spokesperson Sergeant Gloria Maswanganye added that upon arrival at the scene, they found two zama zamas busy mining illegally outside an old  building next to the farm.  " Members also found pendukas and other gold bearing materials. Police searched the suspect's bags and found live ammunition and mercury inside," she said. Maswanganye said that the suspects were arrested and they are expected to appear before the Krugersdorp Magistrate Court soon on charges of Illegal mining, possession of gold bearing materials, possession of live ammunition and being in a country without legal documentation. 

MORE ARRESTS

In Limpopo, two suspected illegal miners aged 37 and 48 were arrested in Bergenek in the Westenburg policing area outside Polokwane. Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the team pounced on a group of zama zamas as they were busy with illegal mining activities. He said  more suspects managed to evade the arrest by fleeing the scene on foot. "The police confiscated pendukas, three generators, spades, soil extracts from the mines and corrugated irons. Police also arrested four suspects aged between 19 and 38 during the same operation for contravention of the immigration Act,"added Ledwaba.

HARMING ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

Sergeant Maswanganye said illegal mining has a negative impact on the country as it  causes harm to the environment. "The illegal miners also tend to use extremely refined methods and materials which put not only their health at risk but that of the general public," she said.