Guns, bombs and gold

A nine-hour gun battle between two groups of warring illegal miners drove dozens of East Rand families to hide under their beds and inside cupboards as gunmen pursued one another through their properties.

New Modder, outside Benoni, was turned into a war zone on Sunday night when two rival gangs clashed, throwing improvised bombs at one another and opening fire with machine guns.

The battle followed the killing of four illegal miners outside Benoni Gold Mine in an apparent turf war on Thursday.

Fears are growing that a deadly illegal mining war, which up to now has occurred mainly on the West Rand, is spreading to the East Rand because of intense police operations in the former area.

Despite several witness accounts , police say "nothing out of the ordinary occurred in the area on Sunday night".

New Modder homeowner Shabeer Shaik said he, like his neighbours, had hidden his family under the bed.

"People were running past my house shooting. They were jumping over walls chasing each other.

"You could hear them throwing bombs [dynamite] at each other. It was as though we were in the Middle East.

"The police cannot cope. They are overwhelmed. The army is needed," he said.

Sam Magagula, whose house borders Benoni Gold Mine, said: "You could hear machine guns firing. It went on until 4am. The explosions shook the house. We couldn't go anywhere. We thought we could be killed."

Security guard Ellek Masuku, who guards construction equipment at a nearby excavation site, said he thought the world was coming to an end.

"In the past two weeks, I have never seen so many bodies. Every day there are shootings. Every day people are dying. It's not safe. If you go out at night you are dead," he said.

He said the illegal miners had "soldiers" to protect their gold and keep other miners away.

"They have armies that are heavily armed," Masuku said.

An illegal Zimbabwean miner, who gave his name as Sam, said the killings were rife.

"Every day there are shootings. Those that are fighting use soldiers to protect them. It's mainly Basothos fighting and robbing each other.

"We are afraid. But we have no jobs, which is why we live here."

Mary Goby, Ekurhuleni DA community safety spokesman said: "It was a battlefield."

Residents were hiding under their beds as gunmen ran through the streets and their properties trying to outflank each other, she said.

"For nine hours, the suburb and surrounding areas were a battleground."

She said illegal miners, fighting each other over turf, were laying siege to parts of Ekurhuleni, turning areas into war zones.

"Last week four people were killed and now this."

Acting Benoni police station commissioner Colonel Martin van Niewenhuizen downplayed the incident, saying it was based on "rumours".

"No shooting of any kind has been reported. We were in the area today [Monday] and no shells were found.

"These allegations are from the community. If you want information ask them."

The mine's manager, David Viljoen, said legal operations had not been affected by illegal mining or the apparent incident.

Major General Oswald Reddy, the SAPS Honeydew Cluster Commander, said the unrest in Benoni had to do with increased pressure the police had put on illegal miners on the West Rand.

"It was because of intense operations on the West Rand; they shifted their focus," said Reddy.

A multi-departmental approach, involving the Department of Mineral Resources, police and the City of Joburg, had helped to combat the illegal mining problem.

Reddy said illegal miners operated along Gauteng's main gold reef, which stretched from Springs to Carletonville.

The Chamber of Mines estimates that up to 10% of South Africa's total gold production - which in 2013 amounted to R72-billion - is from illegal mining.