MINING NEWS
Mine sha�s become killing elds in syndicate turf wars
Turf wars between international crime syndicates are behind the deaths of more than 200 illegal miners murdered in the killing elds of South Africa ' s mines over the past four years . �e latest casualties are 14 illegal miners , known as zama zamas , who were killed at the weekend on Gauteng ' s East Rand . �e area has become the epicentre of a global battle between gangs for control of tons of precious metal in disused mine sha�s . At the centre of the war are an estimated 30 000 illegal miners who , say the UN ' s inter-regional crime and justice research institute and the Mineral Resources Department , are used by syndicates to steal about R7-billion worth of gold a year from South Africa . �e 14 bodies were found on Sunday and Monday , laid out in particular patterns . On Sunday six were found along a railway line in
Benoni . �e rest were found on Monday on the banks of a nearby stream . �ey are believed to have been killed elsewhere before they were dumped . �e UN institute ' s 2016 report says in 2011 the world ' s illicit gold trade based in South Africa , Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru accounted for US $ 2.3-billion . Behind the violence are armies of heavily armed thugs , allegedly including police , who help syndicates wage a war for control of the highly lucrative underground turf . �e majority of victims are Zimbabwean , Mozambican and Lesotho nationals used by the syndicates for their mining skills and years of knowledge on the layout of disused mine sha�s littering the Reef , the Free State and Mpumalanga . Miners , fearing for their lives , have started to arm themselves against gangs that wait for them on the surface and have shopped out their protection to hired guns . �is , say researchers , security companies and monitoring groups , has increased the violence , with shootouts o�en occurring . West Rand illegal miner Lenmore Mwarera said , “ �ere are people now that are selfappointed , who guard the entrance of all the places we go into . �ey are there to make sure no one goes down there with anything that can harm another person ( guns , knives , sticks ), because there used to be a lot of crime before . Frans van der Linde , whose company Blue Hawk Security works on several East Rand mines , believes in the past 18 months nearly 150 people have been killed by gangs seeking control over mine sha�s . “ Month on month we nd these guys ' bodies .”
Page06 | Jan - Feb 2016
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