More illegal miners rescued in South Africa amid police crackdown

Johannesburg (The Uttam Hindu): Authorities confirmed that 16 illegal miners were rescued in the past 24 hours from an old mine shaft in Sabie, a small town in Mpumalanga Province, eastern South Africa, where they were trapped while conducting illegal mining activities. "The increase in illegal mining activities in seven hotspot provinces, which include Mpumalanga where we are now and North West Province where we are heading to later this afternoon, called for an immediate integrated and multidisciplinary approach to put a stop to these illicit mining activities," South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner Sehlahle Fannie Masemola said on Thursday.

The rescue operation in Sabie is separate from another illegal mining incident in Stilfontein in North West Province, where over 1,000 illegal miners have been underground for weeks, Xinhua news agency reported. A court order this week, which instructed the police to send food and medication to the miners, may prolong their stay, as they are not trapped like the miners in Mpumalanga. According to Masemola, three bodies were retrieved in Mpumalanga Wednesday while six bodies of illegal miners were retrieved in Stilfontein over the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, at least 26 illegal miners resurfaced from various shafts in the Stilfontein area over the last two days. According to reports, 1,387 illicit miners have resurfaced there in recent weeks. Many claimed they were coerced into working underground by armed gangs. Masemola said that from December 2023 to date, more than 427 high-calibre firearms and over 10,000 rounds of ammunition have been seized from these illegal mining operations. "This is a clear indication that these illicit miners are often heavily armed and will go to great lengths to continue with their illicit mining activities," he added. The closure of some of South Africa's gold mines in several provinces has attracted thousands of undocumented migrants from neighbouring countries, who have arrived to reopen closed and disused mines.