Ramaphosa hails efforts to clamp down on illegal mining
The rampant looting of mineral resources by illegal miners and damage to infrastructure has cost the industry and the economy billions of rands.
President @CyrilRamaphosa delivered the keynote address at the 2024 Investing in African #MiningIndaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in the Western Cape. Picture: Supplied/@PresidencyZA on X
JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed efforts to clamp down on illegal mining as the industry continues to take stock of the impact of crime on the sector.
Ramaphosa addressed delegates at the annual mining Indaba in Cape Town earlier on Monday.
The four-day gathering is expected to focus on sourcing investment for Africa and ways to get ahead of structural challenges and crime in the sector.
In addition to the energy and logistics challenges in the mining industry, crime has also stifled growth in the formal economy.
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The rampant looting of mineral resources by illegal miners and damage to infrastructure has cost the industry and the economy billions of rands.
As the mining industry now looks to draw more investment, the issue of illegal mining remains a key challenge the sector said it urgently seeks to address.
While Ramphosa admitted there’s still a long way to go, he said crime-fighting efforts by law enforcement and mining firms have started to pay off.
“Since the establishment of a specialised police unit, working with the defence force, we have seen a number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of the perpetrators of this crime.”
Previously, the government announced plans to legitimise and regulate artisanal mining to reduce the illegal trade – but it’s unclear how far along in the pipeline this plan is.