Johannesburg, Jan 15: A total of 118 illegal miners were brought to the surface during rescue operations at an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein in South Africa’s North West Province, with 36 confirmed dead, according to the police.As rescue operations entered the second day, “a total of 118 illegal miners have been extracted as of 4:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Tuesday,” said South African Police Service national spokesperson Athlenda Mathe.
Mathe said that the first day of operations, which began on Monday, saw 35 illegal miners rescued, with nine confirmed dead. And on the second day, “a total of 83 illegal miners have been extracted: 56 alive and 27 certified dead.”
“All 82 individuals arrested are facing charges of illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act,” she said.
Also on Tuesday, South African Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu visited the mine to assess the progress of the rescue operations. Mantashe described the situation in Stilfontein as criminal, calling it “an attack by foreigners,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The crisis at Stilfontein has been ongoing for months, with more than 1,500 illegal miners surfacing so far. In late 2024, at least eight bodies were retrieved. Many of the illegal miners are believed to be from neighbouring countries.
Earlier in December, authorities confirmed that 16 illegal miners were rescued from an old mine shaft in Sabie, a small town in Mpumalanga Province, eastern South Africa, where they were trapped while conducting illegal mining activities.
“The increase in illegal mining activities in seven hotspot provinces, which include Mpumalanga where we are now and North West Province where we are heading to later this afternoon, called for an immediate integrated and multidisciplinary approach to put a stop to these illicit mining activities,” South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner Sehlahle Fannie Masemola said.
The rescue operation in Sabie is separate from another illegal mining incident in Stilfontein in North West Province, where over 1,000 illegal miners have been underground for weeks.