While seizures of weapons and mining equipment and the closure of shafts are a positive step in the country's battle to tackle illegal mining, sophisticated forensic investigations are needed to trace the funding networks behind the crime.
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address announcement, the coordinated deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) under Operation Prosper was rolled out across the Free State, Gauteng, and North West provinces. With an R823 million price tag, funds which were released to the military only earlier this month, questions are mounting over what the intervention has actually achieved.
Ramaphosa, responding to questions in Parliament this week, insisted that there has been “tangible and measurable progress” in the fight against illegal mining. He pointed to the arrest of 1,080 people, the seizure of firearms and ammunition, 83 generators, more than 1,000 refining drums and nearly 2,000kg of gold-bearing material as key achievements of the operation.
In addition, he said the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources had also closed numerous illegal mine shafts, with more closures planned.
“So progress is being made. But because we are dealing with a number of areas where these illegal activities are taking place, the progress might seem to be slow and yet work is being done,” he said.
The operation has not come without human cost, in July 2026, two SANDF members died during an operation against illegal mining in Johannesburg after falling into an abandoned mine shaft.
But while government points to arrests and seizures as evidence of progress, experts warn that the scale and sophistication of illegal mining syndicates require a broader response.
Siseko Maposa, director of Surgetower Associates management consultancy, said Operation Prosper had, to some extent, disrupted heavily armed syndicates, but warned that a critical gap remained.
“An estimated 30,000 illegal mining operations remain active across South Africa. An entire tier of actors who maintain a semblance of legal compliance while driving the illicit trade,” he said.
Maposa said government needed to place greater emphasis on forensic investigations and financial enforcement to target the networks sustaining illegal mining.
He also pointed to the legacy of abandoned mine shafts as a major vulnerability.
“Thousands of derelict shafts were left abandoned and remain open vulnerabilities. Proactively commercialising these sites must be approached not merely as an economic initiative, but as an indispensable crime-prevention mechanism,” he said.
The Minerals Council of South Africa has called for tougher legislation, warning that illegal mining is damaging South Africa’s reputation as a source of responsibly mined minerals and metals.
Its head of communications, Allan Seccombe, said dedicated legislation was urgently needed to criminalise illegal mining and ensure that those behind the syndicates face meaningful consequences.
“The need for dedicated legislation to define and punish illegal mining and the associated crimes is critical. Currently, illegal miners can expect to escape with a slap on the wrist after being convicted of the minor crime of trespassing. The Mineral Resources Development Bill seeks to address this point,” he said.
Cabinet has approved the General (Mining) Laws Amendment Bill, 2026 which is out for public comment.
lt follows the broader reform proposed through the Mineral Resources Development Bill, 2025, which seeks to modernise the regulatory framework while creating a clearer environment for lawful mining and investment.
Seccombe said tougher laws and sentences, more effective policing and stronger crime intelligence were needed to dismantle illegal mining networks and ensure that arrests reach the leaders and masterminds behind the syndicates.