Police in South Africa warn that identifying the dozens of bodies retrieved this week from a disused mine in Stilfontein will be a “mammoth task.” According to Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, at least 78 corpses have been brought to the surface since Monday, alongside more than 240 illegal miners, many of whom had reportedly been underground since November.
Authorities stepped up operations to seal the mine entrance in November, aiming to disrupt illicit mining activity by preventing supplies from reaching the extensive shaft system. Police insist the miners were always free to exit; however, some allegedly feared arrest or were coerced to remain by organized gangs that dominate the illegal mining trade.
South Africa’s Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe defended the government’s heavy-handed measures, describing illegal mining as “an attack on the economy.” Rights groups and a local trade union accuse officials of inhumane tactics, citing the dire conditions discovered underground, where many miners appeared malnourished after being cut off for weeks.
Only two of the deceased have been positively identified so far, a process complicated by several factors. Many victims are believed to be undocumented migrants from neighboring Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho. Brigadier Mathe noted that many of the bodies have decomposed significantly, making DNA analysis both time-consuming and challenging.
Unregulated extraction has become increasingly prevalent in South Africa, where decommissioned mines are often taken over by criminal syndicates looking to exploit remaining mineral deposits. While the government touts recent crackdowns as essential, critics argue that structural issues such as unemployment and poverty continue to push desperate people into hazardous, clandestine work underground.