Six more illegals involved in illegal mining surfaced in Stilfontein.
Ayize claire
Dec 6, 2024
Security officers at Stilfontein gold mine
In the small town of Stilfontein, six men aged between 27 and 30 surfaced overnight from the Buffelsfontein gold mine, an abandoned site that has recently seen a spate of illegal mining activity. This latest emergence brings the total number of people arrested since August in the North West for illegal mining activities to over 1,300.
Authorities have also discovered eight deceased individuals in one of the unused mine shafts this month alone. A member of the group that came to the surface last reported that four bodies remain underground.
He stated, “When I came up to the surface today, there were still four dead bodies left underground. I knew of six bodies. There were two that were removed, and now four are left.”
In related developments, the rescue operations in Stilfontein are facing significant delays due to bureaucratic obstacles, even as community members from Khuma lead efforts to send aid and recover the illegal miners. The police are currently unable to intervene effectively. A tweet from EWN Reporter highlighted the struggles and community efforts, with a post dated December 5, 2024.
Elsewhere, in Sabie, Mpumalanga, police remain hopeful about rescuing all trapped miners soon. An ongoing operation has successfully rescued over 20 miners since the beginning of the week, following a sighting by a private security team of four miners escaping the area.
Provincial Police spokesperson Donald Mdhluli expressed his gratitude for the collaboration, noting, “We are thankful also to our stakeholders, today [Friday] a vehicle is also being used to pull the rope which makes the process even more quicker.”
