Gold theft from mines was estimated at R2-billion rand annually, the Chamber of Mines said on Thursday.
Chamber of Mines deputy legal adviser Anton van Achterbergh said that a report, compiled by the Institute of Security Studies, ”confirmed … that about R1,8-billion- to R2-billion-worth of gold is stolen every year”.
Van Achterbergh said that quantifying gold theft was ”unscientific” and a ”guesstimate”.
”It’s not like Pick ‘n Pay where you can say, ‘what do I have on my shelf and what’s been stolen’?”
”Any attempt at quantification is generally a rough guess.”
The report, called the Theft of Precious Metals from South African Mines and Refineries, also showed that theft of platinum and other precious metals was a problem, said Van Achterbergh.
Gold production in South Africa in 2005 was 300 tons, said Chamber of Mines senior executive Frans Barker.
”It has gone down [since last year]. In 2004 it was 342 tons.
”The report’s being finalised as we speak and should be available very soon,” said Van Achterbergh.
He said that the best indicator of how much gold had been stolen was when arrests were made.
”Generally, at least we know what’s being dealt with,” he said.
Meanwhile, over the past six months police have been targeting underground gold smugglers in the Randfontein and Welkom areas, with 60 arrests made to date.
National police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said on Wednesday: ”Over the past six months, there have been operations in six mines in the Randfontein and Welkom areas.”
She said police were approached six months ago by private security companies in the areas to help deal with gold smugglers, known as zamas.
”There’s only so much they [security companies] can do,” said De Beer.
The operation drew members from the special police task force, the national intervention unit and South African Police Service explosive experts. Members first had to acclimatise to the environment underground, such as the heat and the confined spaces, before the operation began, said De Beer.
Explosive experts were needed because zamas were known to set home-made booby traps and use hand grenades to mine the gold ore and scare off security personnel, she said.
”To date, 60 [smugglers] have been arrested,” she said.
”They are living underground for months at a time. They eat, sleep and even smoke under there. This is very dangerous because there is methane gas and it could explode,” she said.
”They are a danger to legitimate miners, security and police.”
De Beer added that no police had been injured over the six-month period but that some security personnel had suffered minor injuries. Smugglers gained entry into the mines through disused shafts and using legitimate miners’ clock cards.
De Beer said that reports she had received had placed the quantity of gold smuggled at $700-million per year, but that according to her sources, it was a ”hugely exaggerated figure”.
Andrew Davidson, a spokesperson for Gold Fields, said he could not comment on gold smuggling at other mines, but said: ”Gold theft is a problem [for mines], but these thieves are also stealing from the government and from us.”
”This affects you and me,” he said.
Davidson added that details regarding the quantity of gold stolen were only available from the Chamber of Mines.
The chamber would not comment at this stage on industry statistics surrounding gold theft.
The Star newspaper on Wednesday reported that one of the police’s successful raids took place at a Harmony Gold mine near Welkom in the Free State.
Harmony Gold refused comment to the South African Press Association, saying: ”We really don’t want to go into that, it’s not a story for our investors.”
AngloGold Ashanti was not immediately available for comment.
”Gold theft is nothing new,” said James Duncan, a spokesperson for DRD Gold.
Smugglers are charged with illegal possession of gold, explosives and stolen property.
De Beer said that a number of thieves had been charged and sentenced to between seven and nine years in prison. She added that gold ore smuggled from mines was then sold to syndicates that worked nationally and internationally.
”Police are investigating these syndicates,” she said. — Sapa