South Africa Plans Special Police Force to Combat Illegal Miners

Miners walk through the South Deep gold mine in Westonaria, South Africa.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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The South African Police Service will establish a specialized force to combat illegal mining that’s robbing the nation of revenue and hampering operations at mineral companies.

The new security force will be a “multi-disciplinary unit” between the SAPS and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, the energy, minerals and resource minister told lawmakers in Cape Town on Thursday.