The proliferation of borrow pits
to simplify the supply of sand and aggregates for road construction crews has
once again come under the spotlight following the deaths of two workers at a
borrow pit in Limpopo recently.
The two had apparently been
digging sand for a road construction project when a collapse occurred and
buried them under tons of sand and debris. Despite rescuers’ attempts they
could not be rescued in time and succumbed to injuries on site. Two other
workers were recovered by police rescuers and were hospitalised with serious
injuries.
The latest incident has spurred a
call from surface mining industry association, Aspasa, for the government to
put an urgent end to all forms of illegal mining including the mining of sand
and aggregates from unlicensed borrow pits. The regulator has also been called
upon to urgently act on this type of illegal mining to avoid further loss of
life.
Aspasa director, Nico Pienaar,
says he hopes that the reappointment of Minerals and Energy Minister, Gwede
Matashe, will hasten the process, as he is well aware of the problem. “Aspasa
believes there will be a better focus on the issue of illegal mining,
especially in the North of the country – which is especially prone to Illegal
mining of sand.
“The regulator seems to focus on
the established and legal operations with frequent visits and demands, while
the industry is competing with illegal operations, which don’t pay the minimum
wages, nor attend to Health and Safety or even worse the environment.
“This allows for unregulated
business (which needs to be focused on by the departments) such as SARS (no VAT
or taxes are paid), Water Affairs, Environmental Affairs, SAPS, Home Affairs
(illegal migrants) and then the Department of Mineral Resources. If all these
departments get together and work together then the problem could be resolved
quickly, but it seems that the decay of the Government departments have gone
much deeper than is believed.
“Some time ago Minister Mantashe closed some of the Department of Mineral Resources regional offices due to irregularities. Aspasa was requested to report any unprofessional activities to the Ministers’ offices which we have done. We now wait to see what the changes will be now that the Minister has a second stint in this portfolio,” concludes Pienaar. http://www.crown.co.za/industry-news-mq/9904-sand-miners-deaths-spark-industry-outcry
