Sibanye-Stillwater has called on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to clamp down on illegal mining, which it says is harming investment prospects.
The group witnessed its highest number of illegal mining incidents in more than a decade last year, with 540 incidents and 1,487 arrests recorded at its SA gold operations.
At its SA platinum group metals (PGM) operations, the primary threat is the theft of copper cables, which cost the group R53.4m in direct financial losses last year, down from R113m in 2023.
In its latest annual report Sibanye said illegal mining is a growing threat to the sustainability of the local industry and “undermines the rule of law and property rights, degrading the state’s ability to attract investment and meet its development goals”.
The group was working with the NPA to “improve prosecution effectiveness”, but argued that the scale of the problem requires a change in policy. It called for a reworking of the Precious Metals Act to “comprehensively criminalise” illegal mining, which “is not directly addressed by SA legislation”.
“Thus, in many cases illegal miners are charged with minor offences such as trespassing, which carries a maximum fine of R2,000, or imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both, which is not a significant disincentive,” it said.
SA’s flagship mining legislation, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002, makes it a crime to be in possession of unwrought precious metal ore without the required statutory authorisation.
However, the act has long been criticised for its narrow definition of illegal mining, which prevents police from imposing punitive sentences, “with most cases resulting in sentences of about six months imprisonment on average or fines of up to R10,000,” Sibanye said.
Minerals Council SA called for a revised legal framework after the Stilfontein tragedy earlier this year, where the death of 72 illegal miners cast a shadow over the industry.
In 2021, the auditor-general published a report that was scathing about the department of mineral & petroleum resources’ slow progress in rehabilitating derelict and ownerless mines — a key part of the effort to eliminate illegal mining.
The problem is worsened by the failure to formalise the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) industry. Such regulations have enabled governments such as Ghana and Kenya to crack down on illegal mining and collect more tax.
The SA government published its ASM policy in 2022, a step towards formalising the sector, but the failure to translate this policy into regulation means such activities continue to be unlawful, compounding the illegal mining problem, said Sibanye.
Part of the problem also lies with the department of home affairs — 90% of suspects detained by Sibanye are undocumented foreign nationals.
“Due to lax border control, when found and deported, they simply walk back over the border and continue their illegal activities,” said Sibanye.
Beyond the financial impact, Sibanye said its security personnel were increasingly under attack from organised crime gangs involved in illegal mining, with 141 incidents of illegal miners attacking security officers last year.
The group has waged an “intelligence-driven” war on the criminal syndicates responsible for orchestrating the attacks, which includes stricter surveillance of the 22,000 employees who access the group’s underground SA gold mines each day.
In addition to biometric access at its operations, employees in Sibanye’s underground mines face strict workplace regulations, such as being prohibited from carrying extra food underground that could be distributed to illegal miners.
Still, the group recorded 654 incidents of employees and contractors colluding with illegal miners last year.
Minerals Council SA has pinned its hopes on the long-awaited review of the MPRDA providing sharper definitions of illegal mining and reducing regulatory uncertainty in the industry.
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