South African Troops Crack Down on Illegal Gold Miners in Johannesburg

South Africa’s government has deployed military forces alongside police to dismantle illegal mining operations and confront organized crime networks operating around abandoned gold mines near Johannesburg.

The intervention reflects an escalation in the country’s response to illicit mining, a sector authorities say costs the economy billions of dollars annually and is tied to heavily armed criminal syndicates operating across multiple provinces.

Security forces recently dismantled makeshift mining camps in Randfontein, roughly 40 kilometers west of Johannesburg, where illegal miners had established trenches, supply areas, and equipment sites. Police and soldiers recovered generators, drilling machines, and other mining tools left behind when miners fled the operation, according to documentation by an Associated Press photographer on Thursday.

Authorities also cleared temporary shelters and supply trenches stocked with utensils and food used by the miners. Clothing and personal belongings were abandoned at the site, indicating that workers fled quickly once the security operation began.

The deployment involves the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) operating alongside the South African Police Service (SAPS). The military presence is intended to reinforce law enforcement in some of the country’s most crime-affected regions, including Gauteng, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces.

Illegal mining has become widespread around Johannesburg due to the presence of thousands of abandoned mine shafts from the country’s historic gold industry. Authorities estimate that 30,000 illegal miners operate in approximately 6,000 abandoned shafts across South Africa.

These informal miners, commonly referred to as “zama zamas”, often work under the direction of organized criminal syndicates that control access to shafts and trade in extracted minerals.

According to government estimates, illicit gold extraction alone costs South Africa more than $4 billion annually in lost revenue.

Several provinces have experienced similar activity, including North West and Mpumalanga, where abandoned mining infrastructure has created dangerous underground conditions. Illegal operations in these areas have sometimes resulted in fatal accidents.

President Cyril Ramaphosa told lawmakers the deployment is intended to reinforce ongoing policing operations, describing the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as a “force multiplier” supporting the South African Police Service (SAPS) in tackling gangsterism in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Gauteng, as well as illegal mining in Gauteng and the North West.

Ramaphosa also said the military would operate under police command with defined rules of engagement and for limited operational objectives, emphasizing that SANDF personnel are being deployed in support of law enforcement efforts rather than as a separate security command.

Government officials say the deployment of troops will complement broader security initiatives aimed at dismantling criminal networks behind illegal mining and gang violence. The president told lawmakers that soldiers may be tasked with protecting police during high-risk raids and securing strategic infrastructure.

The broader strategy includes coordination with the National Prosecuting Authority, which authorities say will focus on the leadership and financial structures of criminal organizations.

“The police will also be working with the National Prosecuting Authority on multi-disciplinary task teams to target the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of these criminal networks,” Ramaphosa said.