A crackdown on illegal mining activities in the Mopani District led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man and the seizure of processing equipment in Giyani on Friday, 05 June 2026, though three accomplices managed to evade capture by swimming across a river.
The Mopani District Illicit Mining Team was originally deployed to a local river at Homu 14B Section at approximately 09:00. Their initial mandate was to mediate a dispute between two mining permit holders regarding a riverside mining site.
While still on the scene at roughly 10:50, law enforcement officers spotted a group of individuals illegally processing suspected unwrought precious metals along the riverbank.
Executing a tactical approach, police observed four male suspects running a makeshift, manual temporary processing system. As officers moved in, the 30-year-old man was apprehended on the spot. However, the three remaining suspects fled the scene by jumping into the river and swimming to the opposite bank to evade arrest.
Authorities confiscated the illicit mining gear left behind at the scene. The seized inventory consisted of:
* Six 20-litre buckets
* Two shovels
* One pick
* One large light green plastic basin
* One bag containing suspected unwrought precious metals
The arrested suspect remains in custody and is slated to make his first court appearance at the Giyani Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 08 June 2026. He is formally charged with the illegal processing of unwrought precious metals.
Police investigations into the matter remain ongoing.