2 days ago · Mining in abandoned or unregulated shafts, these miners extract resources without permits, costing the country billions annually. According to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, illegal mining accounts for up to 30% of South Africa’s gold production, with financial losses exceeding R14 billion annually.

Jan 18, 2025 · In South Africa a months long standoff between police and illegal miners in an abandoned gold mine comes to end, with close to 80 found dead in grim recovery operation.

Jan 20, 2025 · South African police say a suspected illegal gold mining ringleader escaped from custody with help from police officers after resurfacing from a disused mine in South Africa where dozens of miners died and 246 were rescued last week.

Jan 15, 2025 · South Africa loses more than a $1 billion to illegal mining every year and has vowed a crackdown of the trade. There are an estimated 100,000 artisanal miners in the country, known locally as...

Nov 20, 2024 · South African authorities are embroiled in a standoff with an unconfirmed number of illegal miners who remain underground at an abandoned mine, apparently fearing arrest by police officers at the site.

Nov 23, 2024 · Surviving on a diet of toothpaste and toilet paper, South Africa's notorious "zama-zama" illegal miners continue a weeks-long standoff with police in the darkness of a disused gold mine.

Dec 2, 2024 · Hundreds of illegal miners are trapped underground in a derelict Stilfontein mine in South Africa. While the human cost has sparked outrage, questions remain over who is responsible for the escalating crisis, and what it reveals about South Africa’s sociopolitical and economic fault lines.

Nov 21, 2024 · Along with about 600 other men, Ndumiso lives and works in a small gang-controlled "town" - complete with markets and a red light district - that has grown up deep underground at a disused gold...

Nov 14, 2024 · Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the...

Jan 16, 2025 · South African police have ended a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine where hundreds of illegal miners were trapped for months and say they believe they have rescued all the survivors and retrieved all the bodies of those who died.