Unlicensed sand miners cause havoc

Illegal miners are not only causing huge damage to riverine ecosystems by stripping the rivers of sand, they are also sparking serious safety concerns.

Buildings topple on the coast, bridges are being undermined, flood control is being made difficult and several drownings have been attributed to the illegal stripping of sand from river systems.

The Green Scorpions and the Department of Water Affairs' Blue Scorpions last week raided illegal mines in four provinces, arresting eight people and making complaints of criminal activity against several companies.

Frances Craigie, head of the Green Scorpions, said yesterday that a big sand mine in the Nkomati River, in Mpumalanga, has caused so much damage that it is "killing off" whole ecosystems.

"A wetland has been completely drained and a huge amount of indigenous vegetation has been removed," she said.

Craigie said illegal sand mining started in 2007 but increased in 2010 when big construction projects needed large amounts of sand for huge projects such as the building of the soccer World Cup stadiums.

"It just continued after that. Some people are making a huge amount of money out of this," she said.

This has been highlighted as a "significant problem that is widespread and impacting considerably on the environment", said Albi Modise, the department's spokesman.

"The removal of sand from the river changes the course of the river," said Craigie.

"Floods can't be managed properly and it means that not enough sand reaches the coast."

Eight people were arrested in a raid on a mine in Sikhwahlane, in the Nkomazi area, Mpumalanga, last week. Miners removed huge amounts of sand, destroying 3.6ha of indigenous vegetation.

The arrested miners have been charged with contravening the National Environmental Management Act and the National Water Act.

If convicted, they face fines of R5-million or 10 years' imprisonment, or both.

The arrests were made as part of a blitz last week in which the Green Scorpions raided 11 mines in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape.

Five sites were raided in KwaZulu-Natal. Three of these, along the Umkomaas River, were operating without the permits and one had been abandoned.

Four arrests have been made at operations along the Letaba River, in Limpopo, and a criminal case opened. In Northern Cape, criminal cases were opened against two illegal sand mining operations in the Buffels and Stryd rivers.