Stilfontein: 84 suspected illegal miners deported

An unconfirmed number of alleged illegal miners remain underground, while over 1,000 have resurfaced over the last three weeks.

According to police, only two people have been released from custody, as investigations into criminal activity at the abandoned gold mine.

Meanwhile, civilians who undertook a rescue mission at the mine have accused government of sideling them.

Mine rescue teams have begun work at shaft 11 at the disused Buffelsfontein gold mine.

Provincial police spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone said the team completed the first phase of their operation, which included clearing the vegetation and rubble around the shaft, on Wednesday.

“We’re done with the plan to rescue the illegal miners from underground, we’re done with the clearance, so basically, we can say we’re done with the first phase.

“We’re now moving to the second phase, and at this stage I can’t divulge details. That will be communicated at a later stage.”

It’s expected rescuers would now conduct a risk analysis, amid concerns of unstable ground and toxic gasses flowing in the shaft.

Members of the anti-illicit mining operation, Vala Umgodi, intensified efforts to combat criminal activity at the mine by blocking access routes where essential supplies were being sent down to the miners.

READ MORE: Body of illegal miner retrieved in Stilfontein

A team of about 20 volunteers used a rope pulley to bring up more than 10 people last week, including a decomposed body.

Community member Johannes Qankase said they would not backdown from efforts to bring the trapped miners to the surface.

“They can try and sideline us all they want but the country has seen that the initiative was started by us and we managed to save lives.

 There was no mistake that happened, no one died. For now, we’ll respect their processes as government but we’ll be here waiting for our people.”

Mokgwabone said they were aware of some disgruntlement; they expected the operation to continue unhindered.

COURT APPLICATION FOR HUMANITARIAN RELIEF

On Tuesday, the High Court in Pretoria postponed the urgent application brought by a civic group seeking emergency humanitarian relief for the miners.

On Saturday, the court issued an interim order for officials to end the weeks-long blockade at the Buffelsfontein gold mine, where hundreds of illegal miners have failed to resurface amid a police operation to tackle illicit mining.

The state filed its answering affidavit on Tuesday morning and repeated its insistence that miners were not being prevented from exiting the shaft.

In court, the state’s legal representative, Advocate Bonginkosi Lukhele, repeated the government’s stance that the artisanal miners refused to exit the shaft out of fear of arrest.

“To date, we have 1,187 miners who were able to get out. So, if the illegal miners weren’t able to get out, how did those ones manage to get out? It’s completely untrue that police went there to trap, and that the right to life and to dignity is not being respected.”

However, Yasmin Omar, who represents the applicant in the matter, said they were not opposed to the arrest of the miners but insisted on the protection of their right to life.

“Remember when we came to court all we asked for is just basic human needs. These people were trapped underground, and notwithstanding what the state is alleging by saying those people are not trapped. They are just hiding in there. They have not given food to those people for a number of years, and they have deprived the community of access to the mine so that they don’t give food to these people.

“What do you expect is the position of those people underground? Do you think that they are willfully waiting to die?”

The matter returns to court on Thursday.

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