In illegal mining war, South Africa skirting grim lack of jobs reality
Workers from Mines Rescue Services operate the mechanical cage that was used for rescue operations at the mine shaft, where rescue operations are now completed in Stilfontein, South Africa on January 16, 2025.
After months of controversial restrictions to supplies for the infamous illegal miners in an abandoned South African gold mine, rescue efforts started on Tuesday.
The death toll, however, has become an unwelcome by-product of a programme the government wanted to seal off without incident.
The rescue operation at a deep-level gold mine in Stilfontein, some 145 kilometres from Johannesburg, yielded grim results, with at least 78 bodies and more than 200 survivors being pulled out since Monday.
A rescue cage made several trips down a shaft to reach scores of miners thought to be at least 2.5 kilometres underground. The mission came only after a court ordered the government to facilitate operations at the mine, the site of one of the industry’s most extraordinary tragedies.
From September last year, police started limiting the flow of food and other goods to groups of miners who entered abandoned mine shafts of the Buffelsfontein Mining Group as far back as July.
The idea was to use hunger to force out those stuck underground and the police officers were stationed above ground night and day. The stand-off yielded deaths, rather than an end to illegal mining.
In his affidavit, Setsoto Mashiane, rescued on Christmas Day, wrote that some miners had resorted to consuming human flesh.
“I confirm that I was trapped underground at shafts 10 and 11 of the Buffelfontein Gold Mine. I was rescued on 25 December 2024 and confirm that prior to my rescue, some miners had resorted to consuming human flesh from other deceased miners in a desperate attempt to stay alive,” read the affidavit.
Clement Moeletsi, who entered the mine on July 24, 2024, said he went in because of “the overwhelming need to provide for my family.”
“Despite my best efforts, I was unable to secure employment, leaving me without the means to support my household. The pressure of not being able to provide food or basic necessities for my child and loved ones became unbearable, leaving me with no choice but to take this desperate step in the hope of alleviating our dire situation.”
Mr Moeletsi says that during the month before Operation Vala Umgodi started to affect the miners, he noted that conditions underground were difficult.
“The environment was suffocating and devoid of natural light, the air thick and heavy,” he says.
When the police disrupted the food supply, he says the situation deteriorated.
“The abrupt termination of supplies left us utterly blindsided, as we had no warning or explanation for why the provision of food, water, medication and other basic supplies had suddenly stopped. The lack of communication added to the distress, leaving us in a state of confusion and desperation as we struggled to survive in increasingly dire conditions.”
The stand-off began in November when the government ordered police to arrest any miner who surfaced, saying it was determined to end illegal mining.
According to reports, more than 1,500 miners had come to the surface before the rescue operation began.
Countless others had remained either in fear of arrest or at the command of “gang leaders”.
Stilfontein residents gathered at the mine this week, anxiously awaiting to witness the illegal miners being removed. Some held placards criticising the authorities’ response to the saga. One sign read ‘Sacrifice at Stilfontein,’ while police escorted handcuffed survivors away.
“We are happy that this operation is happening, even though we believe that if it was done earlier, we wouldn’t even have one dead person,” said Mzukisi Jam, regional chairperson of the South African National Civics Organisation.
During a visit on Tuesday, the police and mines ministers were insulted and told to leave by an angry crowd that blamed the government for the deaths.
On Thursday, the Mine Rescue Service was expected to use their state-of-the-art equipment to give police a picture of what is happening underground.
They were also expected to send the cage for one last time to ensure no one remained underground.
Benchmark Foundation researcher David van Wyk, based in South Africa, is on record saying there are about 6,000 abandoned mines in the southern African country.
Many of these mines were abandoned over the last three decades. With the spike in unemployment, which currently sits at more than 30 percent, thousands of former miners have been left to scrounge for alternative sources of income.
Gangs, some from surrounding SADC countries, have taken over the abandoned mines.They sell the minerals on the black market. In the past, South Africa heavily relied on miners from neighbouring Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
In and around Johannesburg, also known as the City of Gold, estimates are that there are about 36,000 illegal miners.
"Zama Zamas (illegal miners) will often spend months underground without surfacing and depend heavily on outside support for food and other necessities. It is arduous and dangerous work," reads a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime report.
"Some carry pistols, shotguns and semi-automatic weapons to protect themselves from rival gangs of miners," it added.
An illegal miner from Zimbabwe, who requested anonymity, told Nation Africa that on a good day, he could sell a gram of gold for R1000 (US$51). The official price is about R1500 (US$78).
“We already have our buyers. All we do is make contact with them once we have the gold. It’s people we’ve worked with for a long time,” the 47-year-old told The EastAfrican.
“When we meet, we weigh the gold, and he pays cash on the spot, and on a good day, I can walk away with R75000 (US$4000). That’s how I make a living.”
His situation is interesting. He cannot work a formal job in South Africa because he does not have the requisite documents to work and live there. The father of three left his hometown, Gwanda, south of Zimbabwe, in 2002 following the economic meltdown.
Once every three months, he goes down to the illegal mines to search for gold. A trip down the shaft requires him to carry enough food supplies to last the period.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa recently said illegal mining was costing the economy “billions of rands in lost export income, royalties, and taxes." The government now intends to engage mining firms to rehabilitate or close abandoned mines.
Mandla Mzimela, an analyst, fears the move to close down the mines would worsen the economic crisis.
"The country is grappling with unemployment and an ever-increasing cost of living. Closing the mines would complicate issues. It could directly contribute to a spike in crime. Perhaps the government could consider decriminalising their operations. That would make it easier to regulate them," Mr Mzimela told The EastAfrican.
The government’s strategy of cutting off the miners’ access to food and water, described by a Cabinet minister as a tactic to "smoke them out," drew criticism for its inhumane approach, particularly given the government’s initial refusal to provide direct assistance, labelling the miners as "criminals."
The authorities say they will be charged with illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of immigration laws, as the majority of the miners are undocumented migrants from neighbouring countries.
"It’s a crime against the economy, it’s an attack on the economy," Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday as he defended the hard line taken against the miners.
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