Johannesburg — More than 4,000 miners locked in a standoff with South African authorities over illegal mining were believed to be sick and increasingly weak inside an abandoned mine shaft Thursday. Illegal miners — known locally as Zama Zama — are often men from neighboring countries who come to South Africa without the paperwork necessary to find legal work. EMMANUEL CROSET/AFP/GettySouth Africa's abandoned gold mines are often targeted by illegal miners looking for gold and other minerals left behind by the previous commercial operations. Community members are searched by South African police before entering the mine shaft to negotiate with unlicensed miners underground in Stilfontein, in South Africa's North West province, Nov. 13, 2024. "I am working here, but I am not bothering any human," said one of the Zama Zama, who wouldn't give his name but said he was in the mine for several months.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 14, 2024 20:00 UTC