Police Arrest 1,000 Undocumented Migrants at South African Gold Mine

BARBERTON, Mpumalanga, South Africa — Nearly 1,000 undocumented migrants were arrested in a police operation targeting illegal mining at the Sheba Gold Mine, officials reported on Friday. The operation, called Operation Vala Umgodi, began earlier this week and focused on clandestine activities near the village of Barberton, close to the borders of Eswatini and Mozambique.

A spokesperson for the Mpumalanga police, Donald Mdhluli, stated that many of those arrested were working underground and that additional arrests might follow, as illegal miners remained on site. “As they are coming out, they have been taken,” he said, emphasizing that the effort was a collaborative operation between mine security and local authorities.

Some of the migrants arrested are believed to be underage and will be charged with breaking immigration laws and potentially for illegal mining activities. The police operation took nearly a week, with no fatalities reported so far.

The Sheba Mine, established in the 1880s, is one of South Africa’s oldest gold mines and has a historical legacy tied to the nation’s gold rush. Currently, it deals with high operational costs and significant issues with gold theft, leading mine owner Barberton Mines to restructure operations to ensure viability.

Barberton Mines welcomed the police actions, stating, “illegal mining will not be tolerated.” The arrests come less than a year after a similar operation near Stilfontein when at least 90 clandestine miners lost their lives. Police had to surround that site as well to cut off supply lines to illegal miners.

South Africa hosts many illegal gold mining operations, often referred to as zama-zamas, a Zulu term meaning “those who take a chance.” Many miners are from neighboring countries, while others are unemployed South Africans who turned to illegal mining due to the decline of the formal mining sector.