Food and water supplies to those underground have been halted by police seeking to force the illegal miners to come to the surface, raising concerns about their wellbeing. Relatives of miners and community members wait near an opening to the mine shaft for artisanal miners underground to resurface in Stilfontein on November 13, 2024. Van Wyk attributed the spike in illegal mining to the thousands of abandoned mines left unclosed by large-scale companies and multinational corporations. Jerome Delay/APPolice have been escalating attempts to stamp out the activity of illegal miners, with more than a billion dollars lost to illegal mining in South Africa annually, according to the country’s Minerals Council. The Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Wednesday that no help would be given to the illegal miners.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 15, 2024 18:55 UTC