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The latest reports of illegal miners being trapped underground in an abandoned mine in the Northern Cape indicate that the problem is large and possibly growing. Certainly the media is reporting an increasing number of instances where illegal miners are coming to harm.

What is less often reported, is the interference with current mining operations caused by illegal mining activities. In the mining industry people are talking about a major problem with syndicates which are protected by people at the top.

What is not apparent is the steps the authorities are taking to combat this. The Ministers of Mineral Resources and Police need to take the public into their confidence regarding the extent of this problem and what steps they are taking to combat this menace.

Whereas policing mines underground is obviously fraught with danger, illegal miners must have access to refining operations above ground, which would logically be more vulnerable to police action.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Ministers to make a statement on this issue. At the same time we will be submitting questions to Parliament on:
The extent of the problem and how many instances of illegal mining are being investigated by the police;
where this is happening;
what resources the police have deployed to combat it; and
what successes, if any, police have achieved in bringing the syndicates involved to justice.
In illegal mining activities the desperately poor are used as cannon fodder by syndicates that are stealing resources whose wealth should benefit all the people of South Africa. It should be taken seriously and stopped now.