Six more illegal miners emerge from Stilfontein in North-West

Six more illegal miners have resurfaced from the Stilfontein mine in the North-West province.

This brings the total number of zama zamas who have emerged from underground since the rescue operation began on 18 August to nearly 1 387.

Police said the miners, aged 27 to 30, resurfaced at Shaft No10 in the early hours of Friday morning.

Arrest

The zama zamas who fled from the Basotho men at Shaft 11, where they had worked since August, were arrested when they emerged.

Police Spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said the Vala Umgodi operation continues.

“The illegal miners are all Mozambican foreign nationals and are currently being processed.”

Eight dead bodies have also been retrieved from one of the disused shafts since November.

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Task team

A special task team, established by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, is conducting an operation to remove illegal miners from the mine in Stilfontein in a bid to tackle the scourge of illegal mining plaguing the country.

The miners had reportedly been stuck for weeks in the 2km-deep shaft.

While some estimates suggest there are more than 4 000 illegal miners underground, police have disputed this figure, saying their intelligence indicates only hundreds.

Children

Last week, the North-West Department of Social Development confirmed that 96 undocumented children were among the illegal miners arrested and detained in Khuma, Stilfontein.

The department said that most of the illegal miners are believed to be from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, including Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

Margaret Zulu of Save The Children SA expressed concern over the possibility that the children were trafficked.

“This situation highlights the systemic failures that allow such exploitation to occur. It is deeply concerning that children end up in these mines without detection, despite the presence of authorities. This exploitation suggests the involvement of syndicates,” she told the Saturday Citizen.

The organisation is providing cultural mediation and interpretation services for the children.

Additional reporting by Thando Nondywana

ALSO READ: Stilfontein saga highlights human trafficking crisis – children’s organisations