South African government refuses to help hundreds of illegal miners in disused shaft

By CNN Newsource

Published November 14, 2024 11:38 am

By Nimi Princewill, CNN

(CNN) — Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry.

Food and water supplies to those underground have been halted by police seeking to force the illegal miners to come to the surface, according to Reuters.

Ilegal miners can travel up to 4 kilometers underground and spend months below ground in old mines, according to a report by South Africa’s Minerals Commission. But without supplies, conditions are believed to be deteriorating underground.

One decomposed body was brought to the surface on Thursday, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said Thursday, who added that pathologists were at the mine in Stilfontein.

Family members gathered near the mining site Thursday afternoon, telling Agence France-Presse they were worried about relatives who were still underground.

“We are here for our brothers and sisters, and my husband is here, he has been eight months underground,” Ntomboxolo Qwanti told the AFP.

Reports vary as to how many miners were in the abandoned gold mine in the North West province. North West police spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone told the Associated Press that three miners who had come to the surface indicated that up to 4,000 miners could be underground. Other police reports said the number in the mine was in the hundreds.

‘We are going to smoke them out’

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Wednesday that no help would be given to the illegal miners.

“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out,” she said.

Speaking to state media, Mametlwe Sebei, who heads the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa, criticized Ntshavheni’s comments, warning that that approach “is almost criminalizing the entire 4000 people – many of whom are just poor desperate people.”

The illegal industry often takes place in “horrific conditions” and under the control of organized crime syndicates, Sebei said.

According to Mathe, the police spokesperson, at least 1,172 illegal miners have so far surfaced voluntarily amid the pressure campaign.

Mathe also said that locals are organizing a community-led rescue attempt to extract the remaining miners, but would be required to indemnify the police first.

“Community members are stepping in and demanding to go and rescue these illegal miners themselves. We are making them sign indemnity forms as a way of exempting us. We have taken them through the dangers and consequences of doing so,” she said.

Police have been escalating attempts to stamp out the activity of illegal miners, known locally as “zama zamas.” More than a billion dollars is lost to illegal mining in South Africa annually, according to the country’s Minerals Council.

The blackmarket trade in gold has also fueled violent turf wars, according to a parliamentary brief, as the nation grapples with one of the world’s highest murder rates.

Police and defence officials are due to visit the scene on Friday. A police statement said the intention was to “reinforce the government’s commitment to bringing this operation to a safe and lawful conclusion.”