Twenty illegal miners resurfaced at Margaret Shaft in Stilfontein on Wednesday, as the number of miners who have emerged from underground neared 1,300 since the operation to flush them out began on August 18.
The miners had been stuck for weeks in a 2km-deep shaft when police pounced on them at exit points during Operation Vala Umgodi, which aims to combat illegal mining in the North West.
As illegal miners continue to come up, it has emerged that 96 undocumented children were detained after they were found to be part of the group.
Most of the undocumented children come from Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
On Sunday night 14 illegal miners, all Mozambicans, resurfaced “assuming” that the police were no longer present. Some immediately retreated after noticing the police presence.
Those detained reported that 10 heavily armed Basotho nationals were holding them hostage and forcing them to dig for gold. They claimed the food and water that was taken down was confiscated by the guards and none of them was allowed to eat or drink.
On Monday, the Pretoria High Court dismissed an application brought by the Society for the Protection of our Constitution, seeking to compel government departments, including the police service, to provide emergency disaster relief to illegal miners underground by providing food, water, blankets and medical relief.
National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola welcomed the decision and said the police service had always maintained that it had never been in violation of any constitutional right to life and to dignity.
The police service said it had never blocked any shaft nor prevented any illegal miner from exiting through any disused mine shaft, as was evident with the 1,239 illegal miners that had resurfaced in the past few weeks.
The department of social development said the North West provincial department had received information about the arrest of the undocumented children.
The department is mandated by law to protect the rights of children.
“Based on the outcomes of the court proceedings, the department will seek to place all identified and legally declared undocumented children in accommodation and provide for their basic needs, while they are still waiting to be processed in terms of the Child Justice Act.
On Monday, North West community safety and transport management MEC Wessels Morweng said a note was sent from underground on Friday saying there were about 500 illegal miners underground and 300 of them were unwell
“The court will, in terms of the provisions of the Child Justice Act, formally charge the children while they are placed in the safety of the facilities of the department,” the department said in a statement.
The department said health services had been provided to the children. The department said it would continue to provide support until the repatriation process is concluded.
One of the miners, Moseki Mofokeng, briefly resurfaced on Sunday night with a letter to be delivered to his wife, Moleboheng Mofokeng, before returning underground.
Moleboheng told News24 her husband had briefly come out of the mine on Sunday night and handed the letter, written in Sesotho, to a community leader, who passed it on to her.
Moleboheng said she was told her husband returned to the mine when he realised the police were still outside the shaft.
“That's what the community leader told me when he handed me the letter,” she said.
On Monday, North West community safety and transport management MEC Wessels Morweng said a note was sent from underground on Friday saying there were about 500 illegal miners underground and 300 of them were unwell.
He said they requested more food.
Morweng said the plan to bring the illegal miners to the surface was divided into three phases. The first phase, completed on Wednesday, included clearing the boulders and concrete slabs at the entrance to the shaft. This was important to avoid them falling into the shaft and endangering the illegal miners underground.
Morweng said the second phase, completed on Sunday, was to bring together machinery and state-of-the-art equipment including a camera to be lowered to assess the state of the shaft.
“This assessment is to gather information on the methane gases down there, how harmful they are and to confirm the number of illegal miners and their state.”
He said once all the data had been analysed, authorities would begin with the third phase, which seeks to ensure that all illegal miners are brought to the surface safely and in a humane manner.
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