SA gold mines under attack - report
May 6, 2006



Johannesburg (AND) A report - contained in a local newspaper today - says that pirate miners are operating in parts of South African gold mines and robbing these mines of R1.8 billion a year in illicit gold.


According to the Saturday Star newspaper, the allegations are contained in an unpublished report which has been sanctioned by the Chamber of Mines.

The unpublished report shows that these pirates use explosives to blast their way through concrete barriers built to keep trespassers away from the gold-bearing ore. Also, these pirates are said to be extremely dangerous.

The illegal miners have reportedly killed one mine team leader recently.

An AngloGold Ashanti securtity chief is quoted in the Saturday Star's report as saying that a gang of about 250 illegal miners had lived underground at one of the company's mines in the Free State.

It is reported that top-level international smuggling syndicates are behind these operations and that these syndicates are made up of qualified out-of-work miners.

These syndicates concentrate on a number of mining areas around the country, and these have been identified as the Witwatersrand, the Lowveld and the Free State gold fields.

The report is expected to be published in June.