A senior Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) official has averred that illegal mining will only be stamped out if there is collaboration among all the stakeholders involved.
Speaking last week at a seminar organised by the University of the Witwatersrand Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry, DMR small-scale mining director Pheaga Gad Kwata said that the DMR believed that, working with other departments, local communities, traditional leaders and local municipalities, it would be able to resolve the illegal mining challenge.
“At the moment, we are experiencing challenges with traditional leaders, as, [when] we . . . say mining in a certain area is illegal . . . they would tell their people that it is their land and that gives them rights to mine,” he explained.
Kwata emphasised that, with the collaboration the other stakeholders, the DMR would be able to explain the regulations and come up with solutions that would allow legal small-scale miners to contribute positively towards economic growth.
Kwata emphasised the importance of small-scale mining, noting that the sector provided between 13-million and 20-million jobs worldwide, with about 3.7-million of the people active in this sector based in Africa. He forecast that the number of African small-scale miners would triple to nine-million by 2020. Thus, the department would continue to provide proper training and support for small-scale mining operators.
The training would equip the beneficiaries with adequate knowledge of exploration and with skills to manage operations and make mines profitable. This would, in turn, enhance investor confidence and drive investment to generate the start-up capital required for sustainable small-scale mining.