At least 78 miners had been confirmed dead at the abandoned Stilfontein gold mine in the North West Province of South Africa, bringing the grim reality of illegal mining into sharp focus.
A total of 78 bodies and 216 survivors have been brought to the surface over three days of rescue operations at the gold mine, the police said Wednesday.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) reported that a total of 84 illegal miners had been retrieved alive as of Wednesday afternoon.
In the face of widespread unemployment and economic hardship, thousands of migrants from Zimbabwe and Mozambique have turned to informal gold mining in South Africa, a dangerous and often deadly pursuit, as one miner explained.
"People from Zimbabwe, from Mozambique, there is no life like here in South Africa. They come here, risk their lives to make their family survive. And our government treats them like this. It's so painful. I don't want to be a criminal. I don't want to steal some people's property or to rob people. I took a decision to take my own risk, to risk my life and go to the abandoned shafts to get some gold to earn a living. Our government doesn't provide us with jobs. So we saw a job opportunity for us," said Moeketsi Khati, an illegal miner.
Khati joined the ranks of illegal miners a decade ago in search of a livelihood. He expressed hope that the government would provide support, urging the adoption of policies or measures to enable them to work legally as artisanal miners.
"Our government should come to a point whereby they let us work here and they should make a way for us to work here. Because now they criminalized us, saying we are the criminals, we are Zama Zamas. Although we are the artisanal miners because we can rough gold without machinery," said Khati.
The situation at disused mine shafts in Stilfontein has been developing since August 2024, when small groups of illegal miners began emerging from the shafts. Since then, more than 1,576 illegal miners have come to the surface and been arrested, the majority of whom are foreign nationals from neighboring countries, according to earlier police statements.
Many gold mines in South Africa that were closed over the decades due to declining production have been taken over by illegal foreign miners who reopen them in search of gold.
At least 78 confirmed dead in S Africa's mine disaster, highlighting issue of illegal mining
At least 78 confirmed dead in S Africa's mine disaster, highlighting issue of illegal mining
