A rockfall at an illegal mining site near Rustenburg in South Africa’s North West province has killed 14 clandestine miners, highlighting the continuing dangers faced by thousands of undocumented miners working in abandoned mine shafts across the country.
Police said most of those killed were nationals of Lesotho, while eight other miners were hospitalised and an unknown number may still be trapped underground.
The incident occurred at Nkaneng, about 100 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, an area surrounded by several established platinum mining operations.
According to police spokeswoman Colonel Adele Myburgh, the accident was reported late Monday and emergency operations were still underway on Tuesday.
“Fourteen illegal miners, mostly Basothos, died during a rockfall,” she said, adding that police and rescue officials remained at the scene.
Dangerous conditions in abandoned mines
South Africa has thousands of informal miners, commonly known as “zama zamas,” who enter abandoned and disused mines in search of gold and other minerals.
Authorities say these operations are conducted without safety measures, infrastructure or official oversight.
“They go into discarded mine shafts. It’s so dilapidated, there’s no infrastructure, there are no safety measures in place,” Myburgh said.
The illegal mining sector has become increasingly associated with organised crime, extortion, violence and undocumented migration, with many miners coming from neighbouring countries including Lesotho and Mozambique.
Renewed focus on illegal mining
The latest tragedy has renewed attention on South Africa’s crackdown on illegal mining.
In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of the military to support police efforts against illegal mining networks, citing extensive infrastructure damage and criminal activity linked to the sector.
The Rustenburg accident follows another major mining tragedy near Stilfontein, where around 90 illegal miners died after police sealed off a disused gold mine during a prolonged operation aimed at forcing miners to emerge.
That operation eventually resulted in nearly 2,000 miners resurfacing, many of them undocumented foreign nationals.
Police said enforcement operations in the Stilfontein area are continuing, with 24 undocumented foreign nationals arrested on July 31 in connection with suspected illegal gold mining activities.
The latest rockfall underscores the persistent humanitarian and security challenges surrounding illegal mining in South Africa, where poverty and unemployment continue to drive thousands into hazardous underground operations.
