4 of the nearly 500 illegal miners arrested at Mpumalanga gold mine are juveniles

BARBERTON - It has emerged that four of the nearly 500 illegal miners arrested during a police raid at Mpumalanga’s Sheba gold mine were juveniles.

The suspects appeared in the Barberton Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Twenty-six South Africans with confirmed addresses were granted bail of R2,000 each.

The case against the rest has been postponed to next week Monday.

Friday’s raid, part of the national "Vala Umgodi" crackdown, is being described as one of the biggest illegal mining busts in recent years.

Nearly 500 people were flushed out from underground, suspects from as far as Mozambique and eSwatini among them.

Police also seized gold-bearing material, mining tools and even a firearm.

The four juveniles will be dealt with in terms of the Child Justice Act — a process that focuses on rehabilitation rather than punitive sentencing.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)'s Monica Nyuswa said it would be challenging for all the accused to be granted bail.

"So most of the accused, since they’re coming from different countries, some are coming from Mozambique others from Zimbabwe, they were all denied bail, not necessarily denied bail but they were remanded in custody."

Meanwhile, authorities expect more illegal miners to surface in the coming days, including the 24 who resurfaced on Monday after spending the weekend underground.