Hundreds are Arrested in an Illegal Mining Operation in South Africa
In a multi-day investigation, South African police reported on Friday that they had apprehended some 1,000 illicit miners. According to a police statement, the majority of the accused are foreign nationals who lack the necessary documentation to justify their presence in the nation. Their nationalities had not yet been determined, it stated.
According to the statement, they were taken into custody in a mine located in Barbeton, in the province of Mpumalanga. South Africa has stepped up its efforts to combat illicit mining and mines in recent months.
Nearly two thousand illegal miners were detained at an abandoned Stilfontein gold mine in January. Mozambique accounted for 1,128 of these, Zimbabwe for 473, and Lesotho for 197. At least 78 individuals lost their lives in the same operation when officials prevented supplies from getting to the subterranean mine.
Activists and rights organizations accused South African authorities of forcing the miners out of the trenches where they had barricaded themselves by causing them to starve. Police attempted to compel residents to the surface in August 2024 by halting the removal of food and water from the abandoned mine.
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