Mchunu to return to Stilfontein two weeks after appointing team to tackle illegal mining

STILFONTEIN - Two weeks after appointing a task team to take down an illegal mining ring in North West, Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu is set to return to Stilfontein on Friday.  

The area has been hit hard by illegal mining activity, triggering a tough response by police and the army.  

This includes intensifying Operation Vala Umgodi by cutting off food, water, and medical supplies to illegal miners underground.  

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Mchunu is now expected to receive an update on the latest work done by a team of mining experts to bring hundreds of illegal miners back to the surface.  

He is the second police minister to visit Stilfontein in as many years.  

Mchunu’s predecessor, Bheki Cele, had done the same a year ago but never returned to Stilfontein as promised.  

In his last visit two weeks ago, Mchunu also met with local authorities and community leaders to discuss the challenges linked to illegal mining in the area.  

By the end of the meeting, he had appointed a team of experts to conduct technical assessments on how the illegal miners could be retrieved from the shaft.  

Phases 1 and 2 have been completed, with Mchunu set to receive a report on what the mining experts found when they sent a camera down shaft 11 at the old Buffelsfontein gold mine.  

The implementation of the final phase of the plan rests entirely on that report.  

Meanwhile, more than 1,200 illegal miners have resurfaced and been arrested, including several teenagers.