For the past couple of year, miners have been illegally searching for leftover gold particles, by extracting the sand containing gold.
Those who stay in the vicinity of the site claim that mining is being carried out on the land day and night by a group of unknown men.
What is frustrating, according to residents, is that they have appealed to authorities, including the police to put a stop to the illegal activity for the protection of the environment, but nothing has been done.
“We have lodged complaints with various government bodies.
“Nothing is happening. We don’t know what to do to stop this. These miners continue to haul sand using wheelbarrows from the piece of land and ship it to a nearby shallow well, where they separate the gold from the sand,” said a resident.
Now the land is left with huge holes due to this mining.
Lieut Juanita Coetzer, spokesperson for the Boksburg North SAPS confirmed that they received complaints from residents about illegal activities.
However, she totally refuted the claims that police are doing nothing to stop the illegal activity.
“We have acted on it. Our members have raided the property many times, arrested some of the miners and confiscated their mining equipment,” explains Coetzer.
“Our members have been ordered to strictly monitor the sand extraction activities in the area,” concludes Coetzer.
Ward councillor Hillary Coke says she also spoke to the police about the matter and asked them to initiate suitable actions against those carrying out illegal mining in the area.
