Government to investigate ground stability in Johannesburg

The Department of Mineral Resources has initiated a ground stability study in Johannesburg to assess whether there is any long-term damage to critical infrastructure installation as a result of illegal mining activities.

The study will be carried out through the department’s entity, the Council for Geoscience (CGS), it said in a statement on Monday (26 November).

“While there is no immediate threat to critical infrastructure as has been claimed, government wants to confirm this assertion scientifically, and proactively deal with this matter not only in Johannesburg, but in other areas where illegal mining occurs,” said the department.

The announcement follows a Sunday Times report in which experts sounded the alarm bell on illegal miners who are blasting near highly flammable gas and fuel lines in the Johannesburg area.

Should one of those lines be damaged, everything within a 300 metres radius will be incinerated, it said.

The CGS is expected to provide a preliminary report on the matter within two weeks.

The department said that it has also introduced several measures that have been implemented to eradicate illegal mining operations.

These include:

• Promotion of legitimate mining;
• Rehabilitation of derelict mines and sealing of holes;
• Law enforcement and forensic analysis;
• Policing and law enforcement;
• Law enforcement training workshops on illegal mining;
• Physical monitoring by the police will also be encouraged to deal decisively with illegal mining.

Read: Parts of Johannesburg could explode or collapse due to illegal mining: report