Displaying items by tag: illegal mining

A rescue operation is under way at a gold mine which has been under police siege since Aug as part of a government initiative targeting illegal mining, an industry valued at 60 billion rand a year. The siege, which included cutting off food and water, drew criticism from human rights organisations. In December a court ruled that volunteers could send down supplies to the trapped men, and recently ordered the state to launch a rescue operation. Rescuers, using metal cages to recover people from depths of over 2,000 metres, have now recovered 78 bodies and 216 survivors, who face charges of illegal mining, trespassing, and immigration violations.  Miners' rights groups report that hundreds more survivors and dozens of bodies remain underground.

The authorities have arrested fourteen individuals, including a wounded teenage boy, after they emerged from an illegal gold mine in Stilfontein, where hundreds of miners remain trapped underground. The miners, called zama zamas, search abandoned mines for gold, often risking arrest, deportation, or violence. Operating in over six thousand defunct mines, they endure dangerous conditions, relying on contractors for food and supplies. This underground economy is dominated by criminal syndicates which exploit the miners, sometimes forcing them to work under threat. Efforts to remove the miners include blocking shafts and restricting supplies. Officials estimate 350-400 miners remain underground, but some reports put the number at as much as four thousand. The government is looking at ways of getting the miners out, but fears of  poisonous gases and armed syndicates are complicating rescue plans.