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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Tuesday, the South African Police Services’s (SAPS) anti-illegal mining task force seized R60-million worth of equipment at an illegal coal mine in Carolina, Mpumalanga, intensifying a crackdown on illicit mining hotspots across South Africa. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to R12-million worth of illegal coal, police seized a cache of heavy machinery, including excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks, as part of an intelligence-led operation, and a a 53-year-old mine manager who could not produce a mining permit was arrested. The owner of the mine, however, has not been apprehended and a manhunt is currently underway. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in a statement that “through collaboration with the relevant authorities, it was found that the mine was not licensed and is operating illegally”.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1865362\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DARK-BLUE-3.jpg\" alt=\"Illegal mining equipment\" width=\"720\" height=\"371\" /> <em>Excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks are among those seized by police during an intelligence driven take down operation on Tuesday, 19 September 2023.</em><br /><em>(Photo: Supplied SAPS)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-01-27-life-and-death-in-the-shadow-of-mpumalangas-toxic-coal-mines/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Life and death in the shadow of Mpumalanga’s toxic coal mines</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The statement continued that in the past 12 months, 748 coal yards across the country were “visited to ensure compliance” while a total of 63 unregulated coal yards were shut down because they were not authorised by law to operate by the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1865360\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2eaf6fbf-7694-483f-8134-b4c823174e36.jpg\" alt=\"Illegal coal mining\" width=\"720\" height=\"455\" /> <em>R12-million worth of coal found to be mined illegally has also been seized. 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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Tuesday, the South African Police Services’s (SAPS) anti-illegal mining task force seized R60-million worth of equipment at an illegal coal mine in Carolina, Mpumalanga, intensifying a crackdown on illicit mining hotspots across South Africa. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to R12-million worth of illegal coal, police seized a cache of heavy machinery, including excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks, as part of an intelligence-led operation, and a a 53-year-old mine manager who could not produce a mining permit was arrested. The owner of the mine, however, has not been apprehended and a manhunt is currently underway. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in a statement that “through collaboration with the relevant authorities, it was found that the mine was not licensed and is operating illegally”.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1865362\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1865362\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DARK-BLUE-3.jpg\" alt=\"Illegal mining equipment\" width=\"720\" height=\"371\" /> <em>Excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks are among those seized by police during an intelligence driven take down operation on Tuesday, 19 September 2023.</em><br /><em>(Photo: Supplied SAPS)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<b>Read more in Daily Maverick:</b> <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-01-27-life-and-death-in-the-shadow-of-mpumalangas-toxic-coal-mines/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Life and death in the shadow of Mpumalanga’s toxic coal mines</span></a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The statement continued that in the past 12 months, 748 coal yards across the country were “visited to ensure compliance” while a total of 63 unregulated coal yards were shut down because they were not authorised by law to operate by the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1865360\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1865360\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2eaf6fbf-7694-483f-8134-b4c823174e36.jpg\" alt=\"Illegal coal mining\" width=\"720\" height=\"455\" /> <em>R12-million worth of coal found to be mined illegally has also been seized. (Photo: Supplied SAPS)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 8 May of this year, 335 illegal miners have been arrested at various hotspots across the country. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The acting National Commissioner of the SAPS, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, said in a statement “Many thanks to the SANDF, DFFE, DMRE and Water Affairs Department who also had a role to play in the success of this takedown. 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"social_description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Tuesday, the South African Police Services’s (SAPS) anti-illegal mining task force seized R60-million worth of equipment at an illegal coal mine in Carolina, Mpumala",
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Excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks are among those seized by police during an intelligence driven take down operation on Tuesday, 19 September 2023.
R12-million worth of coal found to be mined illegally has also been seized. (Photo: Supplied SAPS)