An estimated 4,000 illegal gold miners are hiding underground in South Africa after the government cut off food and water supplies in an attempt to “smoke them out” and arrest them.
The miners have been in a mine shaft in Stilfontein, North West Province, for about a month.
They have refused to cooperate with authorities because some are undocumented – from neighboring countries such as Lesotho and Mozambique – and fear being deported.
Illegal miners are called ‘zama zama’ (take a gamble in Zulu) and operate in abandoned mines in the mineral-rich country. Illegal mining costs the South African government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue every year.
Many South African mines have closed in recent years and workers have been laid off.
To survive, the miners and undocumented migrants go below the surface to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell on the black market.
Some spend months underground – there is even a small economy of people selling food, cigarettes and cooked meals to the miners.
-
WATCH: The dangerous world of illegal mining in South Africa
-
South African miner feared for his life during ‘hostage situation’
Local residents have begged authorities to help the miners, but they have refused.
“We’re going to smoke them out. They will come out. We don’t send help to criminals. Criminals should not be helped – they should be prosecuted. [sic]” Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Wednesday.
Police are hesitant to enter the mine because some of the underground may be armed.
Some are part of criminal syndicates or have been ‘recruited’ to be part of a syndicate, Busi Thabane, of the Benchmarks Foundation, a charity that monitors companies in South Africa, told the BBC NewsDay programme.
Without any access to supplies, conditions underground would be dire.
“It is no longer about illegal miners – this is a humanitarian crisis,” Ms Thabane said.
On Thursday, community leader Thembile Botman told the BBC that volunteers had used ropes and seat belts to pull a body from the mine.
“The stench of decomposing bodies traumatized the volunteers,” he said.
It is not clear how the person died.
Although authorities have blocked food and water, they have temporarily allowed locals to send down some supplies with rope.
Mr Botman said they had communicated with the miners by writing notes on slips of paper.
Police have blocked off entrances and exits in an attempt to force the miners to come out.
This is part of the Vala Umgodi, or ‘Close the Hole’, operation to curb illegal mining.
Five miners were pulled out with a rope on Wednesday, but they were brittle and weak. Paramedics attended to them and they were then taken into police custody.
A thousand miners have been turned up and arrested in the past week.
Police and military are still on the ground waiting to arrest those who do not require medical care after resurfacing.
“It is not as easy as the police make it seem – some fear for their lives,” Ms Thabane said.
Many miners spend months underground in unsafe conditions to care for their families.
“For many of them, this is the only way they know how to put food on the table,” says Ms Thabane.
Local residents wait at the mine shaft in Stilfontein [AFP]
Local residents have also tried to convince the miners to leave the mine shaft.
“Those people need to come out because we have brothers there, we have sons there, our children’s fathers are there, our children are struggling,” local resident Emily Photsoa told AFP.
The South African Human Rights Commission says it will investigate police who deprived the miners of food and water.
There are fears that the government’s actions could impact the right to life.
Minister Ntshavheni’s comments have provoked mixed reactions from South Africans, with some praising the government’s unyielding approach.
“I think this is great. After all, our government is not tiptoeing around these serious issues. Decisiveness will help this country,” someone wrote on X.
While others felt the position was inhumane.
“In my opinion, this kind of talk from the minister in the presidency is shameful and dangerous hate speech,” one user said.
Another wrote: “They are criminals, but they have rights too.”
Illegal mining is a lucrative business in many mining towns in South Africa.
Since December last year, nearly 400 high-caliber firearms, thousands of bullets, uncut diamonds and cash have been seized from illegal miners.
This is part of an intensive police and military operation to put an end to this practice that has serious consequences for the environment.
More BBC stories from South Africa:
[Getty Images/BBC]
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfricaon Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at BBCAfrica
