On Sunday, South African police announced the arrest of 225 illegal miners who were forced to leave an abandoned mine shaft due to a shortage of food and water. The miners, known locally as "zama zamas" (meaning "those who try" in Zulu), emerged from a mine in Orkney, a gold mining town in the North West Province's Klerksdorp district.
According to a police spokesperson, the men were apprehended after security forces blocked the routes used by their accomplices to supply food and water. Police stated that they had been driven out "due to starvation and dehydration" and are continuing to monitor the abandoned mine shafts, as more illegal miners continue to surface.
A police statement indicated that these 225 miners are among hundreds, potentially even a thousand, still trapped underground. Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, the Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, reported that over 13,691 suspected illegal miners have been arrested across seven provinces since December 2023.
Sibiya also noted that authorities have seized R5 million (approximately $283,000) in cash and uncut diamonds valued at R32 million (around $1.8 million). Thousands of illegal miners, many from other countries, work in harsh conditions within South Africa's mineral-rich landscape. Their operations not only frustrate legitimate mining companies but are also viewed as a source of crime by local communities.
