Out of the 106 illegal miners that were retrieved on day two of the government’s rescue operation in Stilfontein, North West, 67 of them are Mozambicans.
As of 11.30pm on Tuesday, 51 dead miners and 106 alive illegal miners had been recovered from Shaft 11 of the former Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, according to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
Mathe said the 106 illegal miners consist of 67 Mozambicans, 26 Basothos, 11 Zimbabweans, and two South Africans.
Mathe said during day one of the rescue operation on Monday, 26 alive illegal miners were retrieved and nine dead bodies were recovered.
On Wednesday, the rescue operation resumed at 6am and is anticipated to continue until 10pm.
The government has enlisted the services of rescue company Mines Rescue Services, which uses a mobile rescue winder to retrieve the miners holed underground.
It is estimated that the operation will cost the government R12-million.
On Tuesday, Senzo Mchunu, the Minister of Police, and Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe visited the site of Shaft 11.
Operation Vala Umgodi
Mchunu said from August 2024 to January 12, 2025, over 1 576 illegal miners had been arrested before the government extraction operation commenced.
He said 997 of the arrested people are Mozambicans, 427 Zimbabweans, 118 Lesotho nationals, 21 South Africans, a Malwian, and a Congolese.
According to Mchunu, 1 540 illegal miners who were arrested are still in police custody.
He said 121 illegal miners have already been deported, including 80 Mozambicans, 30 Lesotho nationals, 10 Zimbabweans, and a Malawian.
Forty-six illegal miners have already been found guilty of illegal mining, trespassing, and contravening the Immigration Act.
The court handed down a sentence of R12 000 fine, or six months of wholly suspended imprisonment for five years, on condition that they are not found guilty of similar crimes.
Mchunu said the confiscated materials since the start of Operation Vala Umgodi operations in Stilfontein in December 2023 include over 640kg of gold-bearing material, 6.2kg of refined gold, explosives, and firearms.
