KEY POINTS
- Hundreds of illegal miners remain trapped in an abandoned mine.
- Police cut food and water supplies to force their surrender.
- Families wait in desperation, fearing for their loved ones’ safety.
Dozens of anxious family members gathered Friday outside a disused mine shaft in North West province, hoping for the safe return of their loved ones believed to be trapped underground. The illegal miners, numbering in the hundreds, remain in a tense standoff with police who have cut off supplies of food and water to force them out.
Families plead for loved ones at Stilfontein mine
Authorities say the miners entered the abandoned shaft illegally in search of leftover gold, a dangerous yet common practice in South Africa’s mining regions. Police are targeting these operations as part of a broader crackdown, which has seen more than 1,000 miners surface in recent weeks. At least one body has also been retrieved, fueling fears among families waiting at the site.
The mine shaft, which plunges vertically more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) underground, remains inaccessible for most. It was unclear Friday whether the miners still underground were unwilling or physically unable to leave. Police and community members surrounded the rocky entrance, where a makeshift pulley system had been set up to hoist men out when possible.
“I’m here waiting for young people who are underground, who are dying,” said Roselina Nyuzeya, a Zimbabwean national standing behind the police barricade blocking access to the shaft.
Tensions rise as miners face life-threatening conditions underground
Nyuzeya said another woman nearby was crying for her husband, who has been underground since April.
According to mining.com, illegal mining has been a decades-long challenge in South Africa, driven by both small-scale scavengers and large organized crime networks.
Many of those who risk their lives in these abandoned shafts are immigrants from neighboring countries. Known locally as “zama-zamas,” a Zulu phrase meaning “taking a chance,” these miners face harsh conditions and the constant threat of arrest.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Wednesday that the government would not assist the miners. “We will smoke them out,” she said.
Mining.com stated that some community members responded with signs reading “Smoke ANC out,” targeting the ruling African National Congress party.
“All we are asking for is their remains to come out,” said Matsidiso Ramolla, 41, a Stilfontein resident. “We need the government’s help so our children can come out of the mine.”
