South Africa: Fourteen Reported Dead, 17 Injured in Illegal Chrome Incident Near Marikana

Illegal chrome mining and illicit chrome washing plants are rife in the region and hiding in plain sight, though the police have had some recent successes on this front. Last week the Hawks swooped on one operation and seized four excavators and one dump truck.

Fourteen people were killed and 17 injured after an incident involving illegal chrome operations around the Nkaneng informal settlement near Marikana, mining and community sources told Daily Maverick on Tuesday.

Colonel Anne Magakoe, a spokesperson with North West South African Police Service (SAPS), could not immediately confirm any details and told Daily Maverick that the police would issue a statement soon and that “the scene is currently active”. Sources told Daily Maverick the incident occurred on Monday night.

Illegal chrome mining and illicit chrome washing plants are rife in the region and hiding in plain sight, though the police have had some recent successes on this front. Last week the Hawks swooped on one operation and seized four excavators and one dump truck.

“Twenty-three cases related to illegal mining were registered in the past two years in the Rustenburg area, with 63 accused charged. These illegal activities include the mining of chrome and platinum. Twenty trucks and 15 excavators have been seized in the past two years,” Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula told Daily Maverick.

Illegal and unregulated, such chrome operations follow no safety standards or guidelines, making them hazards to the grunts who extract the commodity as as well…

By  Daily Maverick.