Known as “zama zamas” (“those who try” in Zulu), the miners reappeared at a mine in Orkney, a gold mining town in the Klerksdorp district of South Africa’s North West province.

About “340 other illegal miners reappeared and were detained", police said in a statement released today. Previously, a police spokesperson told the AFP news agency that 225 miners had been arrested, bringing the total number of arrests to 565.

The miners were forced to leave due to the “hunger and dehydration", police said. Security forces had previously blocked the routes used by his accomplices to deliver food and water to the mine.

The operation continued today and “hundreds, if not thousands"Hungry and thirsty miners could return to the surface, according to police. Shadrack Sibiya, a senior police official, said that more than 13.691 suspected illegal miners have been arrested in seven provinces across the country since December 2023.

“We seized five million rand (about 261.000 euros) in cash and rough diamonds worth 32 million rand (about 1,6 million dollars),” he said.

Thousands of illegal miners, often from other countries, work in harsh conditions in mineral-rich South Africa. Their illegal activities are frowned upon by both mining companies and local residents, who associate them with increased crime.

Picture: © 2024 Kim Ludbrook