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The Citizen reports that according to the police, it is still not clear how many illegal miners are hiding or trapped underground in the Sheba gold mine near Barberton.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdluli said they were not actively involved in forcing the zama zamas out. He previously reported that 1,000 miners had been arrested, but said the correct number was more than 500. “Yes, initially, the private security company working at the mine informed us that the people were 1,000, but some of them ran back to the mine. Remember, this is not an abandoned mine or old shaft. What is happening here is that when the legitimate miners were done mining, they temporarily closed the sections and moved to the new one. The illegal miners then move into the old site and continue mining,” Mdluli explained. He went on to say: “So, we are not sure how many of them are still inside. As the police, we did not go inside; we were waiting for the private security officers to assist them out and hand them over to us.”
Mdluli denied speculation that the miners were forced out of the mine but said the groups that emerged this week did so voluntarily. After more than 400 miners were arrested on Friday, 24 were arrested on Monday and 28 more were arrested on Wednesday. Mdluli said most of the suspects were continuing to appear in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Masoka Dube at The Citizen
- Read too, Sheba gold mine: Two out of 24 illegal miners released on bail, at EWN
Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page