(3 Minutes Read)
The Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, Jánio Correa Victor, revealed that there are over one million illegal miners in Angola. A good number of them are foreign miners. Over 296 dredgers of large carrying unlawful operations are deployed for illegal mining.
The Secretaryt was speaking at the National Assembly on the Draft Law to Combat Illegal Mining Activity. The proposed law provides for criminal penalties ranging from three months to eight years in prison. It also provides for fines worth four million dollars.
According to the secretary, the Executive’s legislative initiative aims to adapt and criminally reinforce the fight against the illegal exercise of mining activities, classify crimes and the purposes of penalties, as well as establish criminal frameworks that allow for the effective protection of the legal assets in question, among others.
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The secretary opined that the legal types of mining crimes currently in force do not satisfactorily cover all phenomena that constitute illegal mining activity. Therefore, he justified the creation of a specific legal regime. Between 2018 and 2023, a total of 1,292 criminal cases related to illegal mining activity were recorded. These activities have resulted in incalculable damage to the country’s economy, apart from causing harmful impacts on the environment, human life, public health, community subsistence, economy and development. Besides, illegal mining leads to violent armed conflicts, organized crime, terrorism, child and slave labor, drug and weapons trafficking.
