Cave-in kills 14 illegal miners in South Africa
The bodies were found in an illegal mine shaft near Marikana, South Africa.
Stock image by Martin Bergsma.
Fourteen illegal chrome miners were found dead after a mine caved in near Marikana in South Africa’s North West province, while authorities believe others may remain trapped, The Daily Maverick reported.
Police estimate the collapse occurred around 9 p.m. Monday near the Nkaneng informal settlement, about 130 km northwest of Johannesburg. The bodies were discovered Tuesday morning near an abandoned mine shaft, according to the paper.
Eight miners were injured, said the Associated Press. Three were released from hospital and arrested on suspicion of illegal mining.
Illegal chrome mining and illicit washing plants are common in the region, where informal miners enter abandoned gold and platinum operations to extract remaining deposits no longer in use to start their own operations and search for deposits.
Police crackdown
Police have stepped up efforts to dismantle illegal mining networks in North West, seizing 20 trucks and 15 excavators over the past two years.
“We are not only going after the people found underground. We are going after the entire criminal value chain,” North West Police Commissioner Arthur Adams said SABC News reported. “Those who finance these operations, provide equipment, facilitate access, transport illegal miners and ultimately profit from illegally extracted minerals must understand that they are also targets of law enforcement.”
The crackdown reflects authorities’ efforts to target not only miners working underground, but also the financing, equipment and transportation networks supporting illegal operations.
Wider toll
Illegal mines generally operate outside formal safety and environmental standards, exposing miners and nearby communities to greater risks.
The operations can also damage agricultural land and other property, pollute scarce water supplies and impose losses on legitimate mining companies.
The deaths near Marikana highlight the human toll of an illicit mining industry that authorities are increasingly trying to disrupt by pursuing the wider networks that finance and profit from it.
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