Johannesburg — More than 4,000 miners in conflict with South African authorities over illegal mining activities were reported sick and growing weak on Thursday inside an abandoned mine shaft. South African police confirm that the partially decomposed body of a miner was brought to the surface from inside the Stilfontein mine in the country’s North West province on Thursday morning.
Five of the unlicensed miners were pulled out alive on Wednesday, all appearing frail and weak after apparently spending several months underground.
Illegal miners – known locally as Zama Zama – are often men from neighboring countries who come to South Africa without the necessary documentation to find legal work. Many say they have no choice but to hide and work in illegal mines to earn a living.
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South Africa abandoned gold mines are often targets of illegal miners looking for gold and other minerals left behind from previous commercial operations.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a senior government official who serves as minister in the presidency, told reporters on Wednesday that authorities would not help the Zama Zamas in the Stilfontein mine, but would “smoke them out”.
“We will not send aid to criminals. We are not sending aid. We’re going to smoke them out. We must not help them but persecute them. We didn’t send them there and they didn’t go there for the good intentions of the country, so we can’t help them,” she said. “When they come out, we will arrest them.”
South African police and military forces who led the operation to arrest illegal miners and shut down the operation – dubbed Vala Umgodi (Close the Hole) – decided this week to block all entrances to the mine to prevent more food from being transported underground. More than 1,000 men have come to the surface and been arrested since the operation began several weeks ago.
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Those who resurfaced said they had been underground for several months.
David Van Wyk, a mining analyst and researcher at the Bench-Marks Foundation, said on a local radio show Thursday that he thought Ntshavheni “should read the constitution and that the right to life is sacrosanct no matter who you are “.
“People have a right to a fair trial, and you can’t say they’re criminals without a fair trial,” Van Wyk said.
Volunteers who helped bring some of the weakened miners to the surface also carried letters from those still underground. Many said in their letters that they simply did not have the strength to stand up.
Some volunteers reported a strong smell of rotting flesh underground.
Members of the local community demonstrated outside the mine, holding signs reading: “Free our brothers” and shouting that their family members had been trapped underground for months.
Just at the entrance to the mine, several women prepare food in large pots to offer to any miners who come to the surface.
“I work here, but I don’t disturb any humans,” said one of the Zama Zama, who did not want to give his name but said he had been in the mine for several months. “I’m just feeding my family.”
