The police mobile squad in Papua New Guinea has been deployed to protect Porgera gold mine from illegal scavengers.
At least a dozen people have fallen to their deaths, or died during confrontations with security, since the mine opened.
The Enga provincial government says police are still investigating alleged shootings of scavengers.
The provincial administrator, Dr Samson Amean, was frightened during a recent visit to see up to 40 illegal miners hang on to the rock face before blasting.
"Everybody gets clear, but these illegal miners, they go into the tunnels and hide there, for the blast to go off, so it really is a dangerous thing for the people, and is a concern for the mine, and as local authorities, we're also concerned."
Dr Amean says proposed boundary fences won't deter fortune-seekers who he says would then break in under cover of darkness.
The consortium which runs the mine involves Canadian and Australian multinationals and the provincial government.