Illegal mining
Guinea mine collapse kills 10 people
The accident occurred on Tuesday in a mine that had closed, but where small-scale miners had been working illegally, said Mamadou Cherif Diallo, the mayor of...
Police officers received a tip-off on Wednesday and when they arrived at the scene, a group of armed zama-zamas opened fire.
Some of the bodies of the suspected illegal miners that were dumped in in an open field in Orkney last week have been identified as Lesotho nationals.
Last week, police found the bodies of 20 men suspected of having been illegal miners from Lesotho. The victims were found at different locations in the area. It's believed they were killed in an underground gas explosion.
Illegal mining in Orkney doesn't stop, even when it becomes more deadly for those who have to do it.
Police have found a family of one of the 20 bodies that were discovered in Orkney. In an interview with Eyewitness News on 18 June 2021, North West police also confirmed that information about the deceased’s names and contacts of their next of kins were found in 12 of the body bags. #Orkney #20Bodies #Zamazama
The grisly find was made at two different locations on Monday and Tuesday.
Officers seized several devices in his possession on Monday.
Police say they have seen a surge in unlicensed mining since the easing of level 3 lockdown restrictions.
Four men were arrested on Thursday at in Burgersdorp during a joint operation between the Hawks and the national intervention unit.
Illegal miners extract billions of rand worth of minerals from closed mines, while the industry was complaining of a siege by armed robbers who storm operations regularly.
Two suspects were wounded and police seized two unlicensed firearms while arresting the group.
The newspaper quoted a Civil Protection Unit (CPU) official in Kwekwe district, 200 km south-west of the capital Harare, saying a rescue team had found two bodies but was yet to start rescuing the trapped miners.
National police commissioner General Khehla Sitole said they had deployed high-risk forces in areas known to be rife with illegal mining.
Provincial police spokesperson captain Sergio Kock said a mining truck was damaged during the demonstrations.
That brings to 30 the total of arrests since the intelligence-driven operations targeting illicit mining in the area commenced a week ago.
Deploying soldiers to clear tens of thousands of illegal informal miners from mining concessions is a new approach by the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ricky Bock (48) from Carolusberg is one of Springbok's illegal diamond miners. He'd given up on finding a job in the economically depressed Northern Cape before finding out that the risk of illegal mining was worth the money.
Artisanal mining is not banned outright in Zimbabwe and is largely unregulated.