Ten more illegal miners surfaced from the abandoned Buffelsfontein gold mine shaft in Stilfontein, North West on Saturday afternoon.Â
National police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the 10 had surfaced as of 3pm and nine are Mozambicans while one is a Zimbabwean.Â
This takes the tally of the illegal miners that resurfaced from the different shafts of the disused Buffelsfontein mine this week to 97.Â
Minister Mchunu returns to Stilfontein
On Friday, police minister Senzo Mchunu met with the families of the illegal miners holed up underground at Ngwenya Hotel & Conference Centre in Stilfontein.
Mchunu had previously visited the area on November 15 after a task team was formed to police the illegal mining activity in the area.
The team briefed Mchunu on the progress it has made so far.
An unknown number of zama zamas are believed to holed up underground for fear of arrest since police upped their effort to stamp out the illegal activity at the mine.
Mchunu said mine rescue experts have been deployed in the area and they lowered a camera into shaft 11 to gather the intelligence they will use in their rescue operation.
He said the government rescue operation will be finalised soon.
Thousands have been arrested since the operation began
All the illegal miners who resurfaced this week were arrested and some have appeared in the Stilfontein magistrate’s court on charges of illegal mining and contravention of the Immigration Act already.Â
Among the arrested is a 14-year-old Mozambican boy, whose case will be handled in terms of the Child Justice Act.
Police said the Department of Home Affairs will work with social workers and a doctor to confirm his age.Â
Mchunu said 1, 313 illegal miners have resurfaced from across the various North West mining shafts since police Operation Vala Umgodi intensified in August.
This brings the total of the people arrested for illegal mining activity in seven provinces across South Africa to 13, 691 since the operation began in December last year.
Police have seized R5-million in cash and R32-million worth of uncut diamonds in the process.Â
