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NELSPRUIT / SABIE, MPUMALANGA – Police in Mpumalanga have arrested twelve suspects during an illegal mining operation in Sabie yesterday (1 November) as part of the ongoing Operation Vala Umgodi.
The intelligence-driven operation started at 8:00 in the morning in the Sabie area, targeting illicit gold mining hotspots.
12 arrested in Sabie yesterday
According to SAPS Mpumalanga, 10 suspects were arrested for illegal mining, possession of suspected gold-bearing material (GBM) and gold-bearing equipment (GBE).
Police confirmed all ten are Mozambican nationals who are illegally in South Africa.
Two additional suspects were fined for dealing in liquor without a licence. One is a South African, and the other an undocumented Mozambican national.
Cases have been opened against the 12 arrested in Sabie and the suspects are expected to appear at the Sabie magistrate’s court* soon.
Full list: Equipment and items confiscated in Sabie raid
During the Operation Vala Umgodi raid, the SAPS Illicit Mining Team confiscated:
- 2 x phendukas (gold crushing mills)
- 10 x 12,5kg bags of suspected gold-bearing material (125kg total)
- 76 steel balls used for crushing
- 2 fan belts, electric motor and electric cable
- 1 gas cylinder and cutting torch
- Shovel, 2 hammers, plastic buckets, water boots
- Helmet and head torches
- Liquor sold without a licence
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Police arrest 1 319 suspects and recover 23 firearms in relentless Operation Shanela II crackdown in Mpumalanga
12 arrested in Sabie: SAPS comment on illegal mining in Mpumalanga
Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise, welcomed 12 arrested in Sabie as part of Operation Vala Umgodi.
“Illegal mining not only damages the economy and environment, but also poses a serious safety risk. Operations under Vala Umgodi will continue to be intensified across the province,” said Modise.
She commended police members for their sustained efforts to combat illicit mining in Sabie, Pilgrim’s Rest and Barberton.
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Why Sabie, Pilgrim’s Rest and Barberton are illegal mining hotspots
Sabie, Pilgrim’s Rest and Barberton form part of the historic Mpumalanga Goldfields. Abandoned mines and rivers rich in gold-bearing material attract zama-zamas, with equipment like phendukas used to process gold illegally.
Sabie – Mpumalanga’s forestry town turned illegal mining hotspot
Sabie is a small forestry and tourism town on the Panorama Route, just 45km from Nelspruit. Built around the historic gold rush and timber plantations, Sabie sits on old gold-bearing rivers and abandoned adits. Today, dense plantations and disused mine shafts provide cover for zama-zamas who use phendukas and buckets to process river sand and tailings. SAPS and forestry officials regularly conduct Operation Vala Umgodi raids in the area due to easy access from Nelspruit and Graskop.
Pilgrim’s Rest – The historic gold rush village still attracting illegal miners
Pilgrim’s Rest is South Africa’s living gold-rush museum and a National Monument, where gold was first discovered in Mpumalanga in 1873. With more than 150 years of mining history, the entire village is surrounded by old workings, tailing dumps and river deposits rich in gold. This heritage status makes it vulnerable – illegal miners target the Blyde and Pilgrim’s Creeks with shovels and small mills. The town’s remote location between Graskop and Sabie makes policing difficult, which is why it remains a focus of Operation Vala Umgodi.
Barberton – South Africa’s oldest goldfield and current zama-zama capital
Barberton is home to the world’s oldest gold deposits – the 3,5-billion-year-old Barberton Greenstone Belt – and is still actively mined by legal mines like Barberton Mines. It is considered the epicentre of illegal mining in Mpumalanga, with deep disused shafts from Fairview and Sheba mines attracting heavily armed syndicates. Unlike Sabie and Pilgrim’s Rest where alluvial mining dominates, Barberton sees underground zama-zama activity with explosives, generators and phendukas. The town consistently records the highest number of Operation Vala Umgodi arrests in the province.
Operation Vala Umgodi is the national SAPS operation mandated to disrupt illegal mining and related crimes.
