Maputo — The Mozambican Police (PRM) has detained two individuals for the illegal mining and sale of gold, in Gondola district, in the central province of Manica.
According to Eunice Faustino, the police spokesperson in Manica, cited in Thursday's issue of the independent daily "O Pais', the individuals had in their possession 125 grams of gold, artisanal mining tools, a motorbike and 117,800 Meticais (about 1,800 dollars at the current exchange rate).
"The Police are relentless when it comes to illegality in natural resources. We are tightening the measures against the illegal extraction of natural resources', she said.
The Mozambican authorities have been expressing their concern at the growing cases of in illegal mining, which experts believe is one of the sources of funding for the Islamist terrorists operating in parts of Cabo Delgado.
According to the National Directorate of Geology and Mining, the country loses revenue of about 90 million meticais (1.4 million dollars) a year due to illegal mining.
According to research undertaken by the Ministry and by the National Statistics Institute (INE) in 2021, the country has 2,162 zones of artisanal mining. 1,577 of these zones, or 72.9 per cent of the total, are active.
