The loss could be more today, Minister of Mineral Resources Suan Shabang said, while conducting a site inspection at a mine dump site in Roodeport near Johannesburg earlier this month.
Illegal mining usually takes place in mine dump sites which are claimed by the state and used for other projects like the construction of low-cost housing.
Illegal mining not only "robs the country" but also leads to the degradation of land and increase crime," the minister said.
In Gauteng Province alone, illegal mining contributes to about 10 percent of crimes.
There have been reports of illegal miners being killed while drilling rocks underground.
In a single accident in May last year, nearly 20 illegal miners were killed when a disused tunnel collapsed near Kleinzee in the Northern Cape province.
Illegal miners have long exploited abandoned gold mines in South Africa and often stay underground -- unnoticed -- in extremely dangerous circumstances for months at a time.
Singer in spotlight after blog post
Feedback
RSS
