Hundreds of South African miners, police continue standoff

JOHANNESBURG — 

Hundreds of amerciable golden miners remained stuck underground Friday astatine an unused excavation successful South Africa that constabulary person surrounded. South African authorities are refusing to let supplies down to the miners, who they accidental are criminals.

Police initially thought immoderate 4,000 amerciable miners were underground astatine the closed Stilfontein mine, astir 150 kilometers from Johannesburg.

They’ve revised the fig to respective 100 but are inactive denying them nutrient and h2o arsenic portion of “Operation Vala Umgodi” oregon “close the hole.”

Police accidental they are trying to unit the miners — believed to person been underground for respective weeks — to resurface. They accidental the miners are refusing to travel up, fearing arrest, oregon successful the lawsuit of undocumented migrants, deportation.

The authorities loses millions of dollars each twelvemonth to amerciable mining, according to the Minerals Council of South Africa.

“We are not sending assistance to criminals. We are going to fume them out,” said Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni earlier this week. “They volition travel out.”

Anxious relatives person gathered astatine the mine, hoping to nonstop supplies down to loved ones. On Thursday, a decomposing assemblage was recovered from the shaft.

Some person accused the authorities of taking an inhumane position. David van Wyk, a researcher astatine the Bench Marks Foundation, a nonprofit that works connected issues surrounding amerciable miners, said what is happening astatine Stilfontein is simply a “problematic” humanitarian situation.

“The workers got to beryllium determination due to the fact that South Africa is successful a transition,” helium said. “Large-scale concern golden mining is nary longer profitable, and galore mines are shutting down and tens of thousands of workers are losing their jobs.”

There’s a word successful South Africa for the men who hazard their lives searching for golden heavy underground: “zama zamas,” which means “take a chance” successful the Zulu language.

Johannesburg, dubbed “egoli” oregon “city of gold” for the riches that prevarication beneath, was erstwhile a large golden mining hub. Many of the mines person closed, however, and the amerciable artisanal miners person gone underground hoping to get what’s left.

Most are desperately poor, galore from neighboring countries specified arsenic Lesotho and Mozambique, and enactment underground for weeks oregon adjacent months astatine a clip with nary protective instrumentality successful the immense maze of tunnels nether the city.

Subterranean networks and an underground system person developed, wherever nutrient and cigarettes, and sometimes prostitutes, are brought down to the men, experts say. Drug usage is rife, and turf wars betwixt rival groups equipped with AK-47s and different weapons often interruption out.

While they eke retired a meager living, zama zamas person go associated with convulsive gangs and transgression syndicates that tally things and are getting affluent from the illicit industry.

The Bench Marks Foundation’s Van Wyk said his enactment has recommended authorities modulate and legalize small-scale mining. He says determination are immoderate 6,000 abandoned mines successful South Africa.

“It’s fundamentally a escaped for each that has evolved and that has resulted successful excavation workers becoming ace exploited,” Van Wyk said. "The constabulary ne'er apprehension the mining syndicates that power them. Everyone is profiting from it but the mediocre guys who find themselves starved underground.”

Police accidental much than 1,000 zama zamas person resurfaced successful North West province, wherever the Silfontein excavation is located, since constabulary started operations determination successful mid-October.

The constabulary curate was visiting the tract Friday.