Hundreds of miners remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off their food and water supplies and is seeking to force them out for further arrest for illegally entering an abandoned mine in search of leftover gold. Police said at least one decomposed body was recovered from the mine.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is investigating police for restricting the supply of basic goods to the miners, such as food, water and medicine, which may have led to the deaths, according to its statement released on Friday.
It remains unclear whether those staying in the mine in Stilfontein, North West province, were unable or unwilling to get out of the mine, which goes vertically underground to a depth of more than 2 kilometres. Reports vary on how many miners were in the abandoned gold mine in the North West province. Some miners who have made it to the surface say up to 4,000 miners may remain underground.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) said it was “extremely concerned” that the situation “may end in a tragedy.” The union added: “Cutting off food and water supplies – with what can only be described as malicious intent, a vindictive act – without a strategy for directly and indirectly engaging with these mineworkers is not helpful.”
Up to 100 000 miners (zama-zamas) work in the country, and much of the minerals extracted by artisanal miners are sold on the black market and to international illegal mineral traders, according to SAFTU. Within this landscape, the government is facing accusations of failing to regulate the mining sector.
Van Wyk explained the surge in illegal mining by saying large companies and multinationals have left thousands of abandoned mines uncovered. “We’ve got about 6,000 abandoned mines in the country. They don’t close them as the law requires, so they break the law by not closing and rehabilitating these mines.”
Minister to the President Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Wednesday that no assistance would be given to illegal miners.
We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.
On the other hand, Mametlwe Sebei, who heads South Africa’s General Industry Workers Union, criticised Ntshavheni’s comments, warning that such an approach “is almost criminalising” those in the mine, “many of whom are just poor desperate people.” The illegal industry is often carried out in appalling conditions and under the control of organised crime syndicates, Sebei said.
Meshack Mbangula, who heads a community-based group called the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), said the government should rather go after mine owners who leave their disused shafts open.
“If there were no open shafts, we won’t be having zama zamas. We need to transform the sector and decriminalize it. If the sector is legalized and made safe, it can hire thousands of people and contribute to the economy of South Africa. It can assist in reducing poverty, unemployment, and crime,” he said.
As long as the country is experiencing unemployment and poverty, “you can’t stop people from going down there (into disused mines) because they will risk their lives to make sure they put food on the table,” according to him.
