The city of Johannesburg has identified over R285 million in road and bridge repairs related to damage caused by illicit mining. However, this figure is not a national total, and authorities are still unsure of the entire amount. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) has described the scale of the problem as severe, with illegal mining being "rife and extremely serious" and requiring urgent attention.
The consequences of illegal mining are surfacing in collapsing roads, unstable ground, damaged public infrastructure, and environmental degradation. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) has acknowledged the impact of illegal mining on legitimate mining operations and communities. According to spokesperson Lerato Ntsoko, the issue has also adversely affected the communities living in the vicinity of these illicit activities, causing extreme socio-economic and environmental challenges.
The DMPR has stated that unregulated operations are conducted without the legislative obligations imposed on legitimate rights and permit holders, creating risks that extend from public safety to infrastructure and the environment. The department is working with law-enforcement agencies through joint operations, including Vala Umgodi and Operation Prosper. The government reported in August that Operation Prosper had disrupted illegal mining in Free State, Gauteng, and North West, with arrests, shaft closures, and seizures of firearms, explosives, and mining equipment.
The City of Johannesburg has begun putting figures to some of the damage caused by illegal mining. Investigations revealed by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) found underground voids as deep as 22 metres beneath the road prism along John and Webber Streets in Booysens and 17 metres beneath Wemmerpan Road in Turffontein. In Roodepoort, sinkholes between six and eight metres deep have affected Nick Toomey Boulevard, Mijn Street, and Alpha Street in Witpoortjie.
The city estimates that R262 million is required to reinstate five roads affected by illegal mining fully. Preliminary assessments of M1 and M2 bridge structures have put repairs to abutments and parapet walls at close to R23 million before detailed investigations establish the full rehabilitation bill. However, Johannesburg does not know the full cost, with the city currently not having consolidated city-wide figures that quantify the full financial impact of illegal mining over the past three years.
City Power is confronting a similar threat beneath the electricity network, with illegal underground mining threatening critical infrastructure around the Robertville and Roodepoort substations and along the Main Reef corridor. Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said underground excavations have compromised ground stability, placing substations, transformers, pylons, and transmission towers at risk. In some areas, infrastructure has already begun to sink as illegal mining activity continues beneath the surface.
The infrastructure threat is not unique to Gauteng, with the provincial legislature in North West recently raising concerns about illegal mining and unauthorised chrome wash plants in Bojanala and Madibeng. The committee said that about 70 chrome wash plants had been inspected during 2025/26, with around 30 found to be operating without environmental authorisation. The province has also faced a deadly human toll, with the DMPR confirming an incident in Nkaneng, Rustenburg, in August in which illegal miners died.
Key points
- The city of Johannesburg has identified over R285 million in road and bridge repairs related to damage caused by illicit mining.
- The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) has described the scale of the problem as severe, with illegal mining being "rife and extremely serious" and requiring urgent attention.
- The consequences of illegal mining are surfacing in collapsing roads, unstable ground, damaged public infrastructure, and environmental degradation.
