‘It’s tough down there’: More details emerge on situation at Stilfontein mine

According to police, all the illegal miners who resurfaced on Sunday are Mozambique nationals, and a 14-year-old boy is among them

More details have emerged on the situation underground at a North West mine as more suspected illegal miners make their way to the surface.

A group of 14 illegal miners resurfaced from shaft 10 at the disused Stilfontein mine on Sunday.

According to police, all the men are Mozambique nationals, and a 14-year-old boy is among them.

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said they have all been arrested.

She said the miners resurfaced near a shaft from which other illegal miners have been resurfacing.

Newzroom Afrika interviewed some of the miners, also known as zama zamas, as they were being detained by police.

One claimed he had been underground since July 20.

“I was approached in Diepsloot and told there's work for us here. I headed underground but the food ran out soon after my arrival and there was no money coming my way.

“I managed to escape and I'm grateful to the police for helping us, I hope they can also help others who are down there and facing hunger. There's no food down there and people are being beaten. It's tough down there,” he said.

Another man said he was taken from Soweto, as part of a group of men, and on arrival at the mine he was forced at gunpoint to join others underground.

He said supplies sent down in recent weeks had not reached most of the group but were taken by gun-wielding underground bosses.

He said some zama zamas were refusing to resurface out of fear of the police.

“They ration the supplies sent down and give us a cup of Mageu [fermented maize meal drink] each per day,” he said.

The police, who have maintained the miners underground were not trapped but were instead refusing to resurface, welcomed a Pretoria high court ruling dismissing an application brought by the Society for the Protection of our Constitution.

The society sought humanitarian aid and for police to permit non-emergency personnel to go down the 2km-deep shaft to haul out more than 4,000 illegal miners.

The SA Police Service (SAPS) has maintained it has never been in violation of any constitutional right to life and dignity. It has never blocked any shaft or blocked illegal miner from exiting through a disused mine shaft, as is evident from the 1,239 illegal miners who have resurfaced in the past few weeks.

“SAPS remains adamant there is no illegal miner trapped underground and that they simply refuse to resurface because they are avoiding arrest,” the police service said on Monday.

More than 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced in recent weeks after Operation Vala Umgodi was mounted by police in North West.

Police and soldiers began by blocking supplies of food, water and other necessities to the illegal miners in mid-October. 

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