The Chamber of Mines (CoM) says the problem of illegal mining will not be resolved unless the country’s underlying socioeconomic situation is addressed.

In an interview with Mining Weekly, CoM legal department head Anton van Achterbergh notes that South Africa’s crime rate – which is mostly driven by socioeconomic factors, such as poverty, the increasing unemployment rate and the increasing number of illegal immigrants – also drives the country’s illegal- mining problem.

However, he adds that the difficulty of accurately quantifying how much minerals have been stolen distinguishes illegal mining from other crimes.

“Unlike in fixed crime situations, where, for example, a shop is burgled and it becomes evident what has been stolen, minerals are mined underground and no accurate inventory has been taken to determine how much of the minerals exist. This makes the science of quantifying stolen minerals imperfect and inaccurate in some instances,” explains Van Achterbergh.

The CoM has divided the syndicates of this crime into five levels and has partnered with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to form operations that will investigate all the levels of this organised crime.

These levels are classified as Level 1, the actual stealing of the minerals; Level 2, the first buyer of the minerals above ground, who sells the minerals to a regional buyer; Level 3, the regional buyer within a country; Level 4, the person who sells the minerals at national level, usually to international buyers; and Level 5, the person responsible for selling the minerals at international level or moving the proceeds around internationally. The smug- gling across national borders could happen at any level between Level 3 and Level 5.

“Having identified these levels, we realised that we have to devise a plan that will investigate the entire value chain and not only the first three levels, which normally comprise the stages where the actual minerals are handled within the country,” he highlights.

The CoM’s members are involved in ongoing projects and initiatives that include the involvement of higher-ranking personnel in the SAPS, who help in the investigation of levels 4 and 5. At one stage about 17 Level 4 syndicates were identified in joint investigations between the industry and the SAPS. These investigations led to various successful prosecutions.

The CoM also approached the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) some time ago to help with quantifying the extent of precious metals theft. The ISS brought out two reports in this regard, covering the periods 1994 to1998 and 1999 to 2004. These reports estimated that gold to the value of about R1.8-billion at the time was stolen yearly from South African mines. In today’s money, that would be closer to R5-billion a year, notes Van Achterbergh.

He adds that South Africa is one of the only countries where the possession of raw precious metals is illegal. Once the precious metals are smuggled across the country’s borders, possessing them is usually no longer illegal, provided the export or import documentation is in order.

“This made us realise that we needed international assistance and the SAPS and the South African government started engaging various overseas structures, including the United Nations (UN), on the matter. The UN has since decided to conduct a study that will provide more information on how illegal mining syndicates relate to other crimes internationally.

“We face an enormous problem in terms of illegal mining, but [we must not lose sight] of the fact that there is also theft of copper cables, diesel, explosives and various other items at mines. This has resulted in mining companies having to invest more in ensuring that security is tighter on the mines. The costs of the stolen minerals and other items and of the security required place an enormous financial burden on mines that could threaten their viability and existing jobs, [as such] funds could have been used more productively to boost [South Africa’s] economy,” says Van Achterbergh.

With the Africa Mine Security Summit set to take place in Johannesburg in April, the CoM hopes to create awareness of the dangers and negative impact that illegal mining and other crimes at mines have on not only the mines but also the country’s economy.