PIGG’S PEAK – Police recovered about 130 bags of mineral-rich soil after suspected illegal miners fled a raid at Phophonyane.
The bags, believed to contain gold-bearing material, were found at a makeshift processing station, where the miners, commonly known as zama zamas, had allegedly been operating.
The operation forms part of an ongoing crackdown by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) targeting illegal mining activities in the northern Hhohho region.
Pigg’s Peak Police Station Commander Dumsani Nzalo said officers moved in on the site following intelligence about illegal mining operations in the area.
He said upon arrival, the suspects took to their heels and disappeared into the surrounding forest, leaving behind equipment and processed material.
“We recovered about 130 sacks already packed with stones and soil suspected to contain gold,” said Nzalo.
He added that the bags were initially taken to the Pigg’s Peak Police Station before being transferred to the Buhleni Police Post for safekeeping.
Nzalo said no arrests were made during Tuesday’s raid as the suspects fled before police could apprehend them. However, he noted that the discovery marked a significant breakthrough in efforts to dismantle illegal mining operations in the area.
“We have not seen them return to the site since they fled, but the operation is ongoing and we are pursuing them,” he said.
Police also discovered several other sites within the forest believed to have been used by the illegal miners.
At these locations, officers found empty sacks, clothing, shovels and other tools used in the extraction and processing of minerals.
Nzalo said the miners used rudimentary methods, including hammers, to crush stones before packing the material into sacks for further processing.
The Phophonyane site is believed to have served as a central processing point, where raw material was refined after being extracted from nearby locations.
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