Scorpions investigate illegal sand mining operations

© Željko Radojko – za.fotolia.com

This is a joint national and provincial compliance and enforcement initiative which is aimed at addressing the environmental and water aspects of unlawful sand mining operations. The damage caused by these operators has been identified as one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss.

The impact on the environment is the end result of many of these unlawful operators exploiting the resource and abandoning sites without implementing any form of rehabilitation once the resource is depleted. Irreparable degradation to the environment often results from these illegal activities which become a legacy which future generations will need to address.

Pilot project

The national project focusing on illegal sand mining activities commenced as a pilot project in 2010 in the Limpopo province and has subsequently been conducted, over the last three years, in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

The latest blitz in the project is a collaborative effort with the Department of Mineral Resources and the Department of Water and Sanitation, in certain provinces, whose respective mandates are also triggered by these unlawful activities.
Previous operations focusing on this sector have revealed elements of organised criminal activity which is often extremely hostile. Many of these unlawful operators conduct activities without any form of authorisation.

Green Scorpions from the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the national department engaged in enforcement activities earlier this month, which resulted in the confiscation of heavy duty machinery used in the removal of sand. The investigation is currently at an advanced stage and will be enrolled for prosecution soon.