Some 4,000 illegal miners are still inside a closed mine in South Africa's North West province, refusing to come out because they risk arrest. They have been denied access to basic products as part of an official strategy to combat illegal mining.
Already dead
Only five of these men came out of the Stilfontein well on Wednesday and two more on Thursday afternoon. A body was also brought to the surface on Thursday, said police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe, urging other miners to rise to the surface. The authorities decided that no police officers or soldiers would descend into this abandoned mine.
A decision justified by the presence of dangerous gases and a high risk of loss of human life, according to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe.
“But what we are seeing today is that members of the community are intervening and asking to go and rescue these illegal miners themselves. So, we are making them sign compensation forms in order to exempt us from this. “We explained to them the dangers and consequences of such an act.”
Migrants and illegal miners
Nicknamed zama zamas (“those who try” in Zulu), these men, often from neighboring countries, work in perilous conditions in mines in South Africa, a country rich in minerals.
Their illegal activities are viewed negatively by mining companies and local residents, who associate them with an increase in crime. But the refusal of the authorities to come to the aid of the minors is poorly received by human rights defenders like Thembile Botman.
“If you listened to the minister yesterday, the arrogance and irresponsible comments she made show that the government intends to commit at least one genocide. I mean our government has initiated proceedings against Israel to not not have provided food to the population. Today we are in South Africa. This same government cannot provide food to the people who are dying in this same country.
This is not the first time that miners have been trapped underground in South Africa. In October last year, more than 500 South African miners were left underground for more than 36 hours due to a standoff between rival unions.
In artisanal or illegal mines, where safety conditions are not respected, accidents are also often the cause of miners trapped underground. In October 2020, at least 20 miners died in an artisanal gold mine in Kamituga, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
