South African government to gradually legalise illegal mining – Oliphant
| Date: Feb 9, 2018 |
| Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant said on Thursday the South African government had taken a decision to gradually regularise the activities of illegal miners on a merit basis.
Illegal mining is prevalent in South Africa, and forms part of an underground economy, with spates of violence between the operators, called “Zama-Zamas” and deaths resulting from accidents underground. “The only way to minimize and combat illegal mining is to legalize it. We have taken a decision that says where it is safe to do so, let us legalize,” Oliphant told delegates at the Mining Indaba. |
