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
Iran on Monday publicly rejected a core U.S. demand to cease all uranium enrichment, while projecting a dual-track strategy of guarded diplomatic engagement and reinforced military preparedness.
The moves came as the indirect Iran-US talks in Oman's Muscat last week yielded no breakthrough and regional tensions continued to simmer.
On Monday, Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that while Iran could consider diluting its 60-percent enriched uranium, it would only do so if all international sanctions were first lifted.
Eslami also dismissed past proposals to ship the material abroad for safekeeping.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi echoed this line on Monday, reaffirming Tehran's strategy of engaging in talks while refusing to concede on what Iran views as sovereign rights.
Pezeshkian and Araghchi have described the Muscat talks as a "good start" but warned that diplomacy must be based on "respect, not coercion."
In a televised speech on Monday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to show unity and "disappoint the enemy" ahead of the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, amid rising tensions with the United States.
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, is set to lead a delegation to visit mediator Oman on Tuesday.
Simultaneously, Iran has signaled a shift toward greater military opacity. Iran's state news agency IRNA said in a report on Sunday that the Defense Ministry has halted all public displays of new weaponry "for security reasons and to safeguard the principle of surprise," a move widely interpreted as preparing for potential conflict.
Positions from the United States and Israel have appeared equally firm. A report on Sunday by Israel's Channel 15 said the United States had privately messaged Iran, seeking Iran's "concessions" in the next round of talks, and expecting "serious and meaningful content."
On Monday, The Jerusalem Post, citing Israeli defense officials, reported that Israel has warned the U.S. it "will strike alone" if Iran crosses its "red lines" on ballistic missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb 11 in Washington, and will discuss the U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Netanyahu is expected to demand that the U.S. promote the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium out of the country and restrict Iran's ballistic missile capabilities.
Iran rejects zero enrichment, projects dual-track posture amid stalled talks with U.S.
