North West police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said the extortionists visited the Stilfontein site where mine rescue teams are setting up heavy machinery.

EFFORTS to reach illegal miners at the Buffelsfontein mine near Stilfontein in South Africa’s North West province have been frustrated by red tape and, according to one report, attempts to extort the rescue teams.

STILFONTEIN - Illegal miners refusing to resurface at an abandoned mine in Stilfontein are only likely to be brought back to the surface at the start of next week, as government intensifies plans to shut down the underground network. Hundreds of zama zamas fearing arrest remain underground at a shaft at the old Buffelsfontein gold mine.

Trapped Zama zamas in Stilfontein beg for ARVs and food, as authorities struggle to provide for the illegal miners amid ongoing rescue efforts.

The miners in Stilfontein, in the country’s North West province, have been entering the mine, which is no longer in operation, searching for gold deposits. Such illegal mining has long been going on across South Africa. The standoff in Stilfontein ...

North-West Community Safety MEC Wessels Morweng told Briefly News a rescue operation was underway at Stilfontein in Klerksdorp to bring up the illegal miners.