51 bodies, 106 illegal miners retrieved on day two of Stilfontein rescue operations

15 January 2025 - 07:26
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The shaft in Stilfontein where hundreds of illegal miners are hiding underground. File photo.
The shaft in Stilfontein where hundreds of illegal miners are hiding underground. File photo.
Image: Reuters/Ihsaan Haffejee

A total of 106 illegal miners who were alive were retrieved from the old Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein and were arrested. Police said 51 were certified dead on Tuesday evening.  

The rescue operation started on Monday and nine bodies were found while 26 illegal miners were rescued on the same day. 

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said 67 Mozambicans, 26 Lesotho nationals, 11 Zimbabweans and two South Africans were arrested. 

She said operations will resume on Wednesday. 

Police minister Senzo Mchunu and mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe visited the area on Tuesday. 

From August last year to January 12, more than 1,576 illegal miners were arrested before the extraction operation started.

Those arrested include 997 Mozambicans, 427 Zimbabweans, 118 Basotho nationals from Lesotho, 21 South Africans, one from Malawi and one from Congo.  

Mathe said 1,540 illegal miners are in police custody while 121 illegal miners have been deported, including 80 Mozambicans, 30 Lesotho nationals, 10 Zimbabweans, and one Malawian. 

She said 46 have been found guilty of illegal mining, trespassing and contravening the Immigration Act.

“The court handed down a sentence of R12,000 or six months wholly suspended prison sentence for five years on condition they are not found guilty of similar crimes.  

“Confiscated materials since the start of operations in Stilfontein (December 2023)  include more than 640kg of gold-bearing material, 6.2g of refined gold, explosives, firearms and cash amounting to R52.49m .”

TimesLIVE 


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