Police and Defence visit North West in response to illegal mining incident, 15 Nov

The Ministry of Police, together with the Ministry of Defence, will visit the North West Province in response to the ongoing operation to address illegal mining in the Stilfontein area, where a significant number of illegal miners remain underground. The visit will reinforce the government’s commitment to bringing this operation to a safe and lawful conclusion.

The visit comes amid ongoing efforts by the SAPS and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), under Operation Vala Umgodi, to ensure that illegal miners who are still underground return to the surface safely. Despite multiple calls, numerous illegal miners have yet to resurface. The visit seeks to interact and engage law enforcement agencies on the ground, engage the North West government and mining leadership, including other relevant stakeholders and to further assess progress on the ground, challenges and work out appropriate responses.

The visit will further reinforce government to uphold law and order, and stop any unlawful activity.  

To date, more than 1,000 individuals involved in illegal mining have surfaced and been apprehended. SAPS remains resolute in its commitment to uphold law and order and urges all remaining illegal miners to adhere to police calls to resurface.

Members of the media are invited as follows:

Date: 15 November 2024
Time: 10h00 
Location: Stilfontein, North West

For more information, contact Ministry Spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi on 076 523 0085 or Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, Spokesperson for the SAPS on 082 040 8808.For media releases, speeches and news visit the SAPS portal at: www.saps.gov.za

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