TimesLIVE reports that Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe says the government should be intensifying its fight against illegal mining.
He was part of a delegation of government ministers, including police minister Senzo Mkhize, that visited an abandoned Stilfontein mine in North West on Tuesday after the start of an operation to ensure that all the illegal miners in the mine were brought to the surface. Mantashe said the criminal aspect of illegal mining was the responsibility of the police “Because there is illegal mining, this is a crime scene. Once a decision is taken to start a rescue operation, I must liaise with mine rescue service, I must talk to the Mineral Council and the owner of the operation.” He went on to indicate: “The reality of the matter is that I have not changed my view that illegal mining is a criminal activity. What will never shift to me is the way we deal with illegal mining. It should be intensifying the fight against illegal mining.” In Mantashe’s view, illegal mining is a crime against the economy. “It is a criminal activity. It is an attack on our economy by foreign nationals in the main,” Mantashe stated.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE
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