Gauteng High Court Orders Stilfontein Mine Shaft Unblocking for Illegal Miners To Return to Surface

• The Gauteng High Court on Saturday, 16 November 2024, issued an order for a shaft at the Stilfontein mine to be unblocked
• About 4,000 illegal miners were trapped at the disused facility in Klerksdorp amid the police's Operation Vala Umgodi
• The Society for the Protection of our Constitution (SPOC) filed its application two days earlier for the shaft to be opened

STILFONTEIN — Things have unravelled amid a tense wait for illegal miners to resurface at the Stilfontein Gold Mine in Klerksdorp, North-West.

In a stunning turn of events, the Gauteng High Court in Tshwane ordered that law enforcement unblock a mine shaft on Saturday, 16 November 2024.

Court orders Stilfontein mine shaft unblocking

This is despite efforts by the illicit mining task team, which said it was urging about 4,000 miners to resurface amid Operation Vala Umgodi.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) implored illegal miners to rise back to the surface after blocking off routes used to deliver essentials to them from communities complicit to their unlawful actions.

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National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told Briefly News on 14 November that the body of an illegal miner, colloquially known as zama zamas, was brought up from a shaft at the sealed-off mine.

Police opened an inquest into the only confirmed death so far amid reports of starvation as three illegal miners resurfaced alive on the same day.

However, Mathe, who said law enforcement's safety was being put first, said there were no plans for personnel to enter the shaft to go after the illegal miners, as they were heavily armed while preventing others from resurfacing.

In an interim order on 16 November, the court ruled that the shaft could not be blocked for any reason and instructed that trapped miners be let out.

The order instructed that non-emergency personnel could not enter the shaft.

News24 reported that the Society for the Protection of our Constitution (SPOC) filed the application on 14 November, which was postponed to Tuesday.

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The SPOC files complaints with the Registrar of the High Court against entities it considers to be undermining the Constitution.

Additionally, News24 reported that the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was investigating allegations that the police had restricted essential supplies such as food, water, and medication to the mine shaft for nearly three months.

Three more miners had since risen to the surface on 16 November.

Briefly News reported that on 13 November, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni made controversial comments when she said the government would not help the illegal miners but "smoke them out" as authorities sought to arrest and persecute them.

Thuli Madonsela defends Ntshavheni

In related news, Briefly News reported that Thuli Madonsela added her voice to the illegal miners' discussion amid a standoff at the Stilfontein mine.

Defending Ntshavheni, the ex-Public Protector said the minister's phrase "smoke them out" meant not sending help or food, so the only option left for them was to re-emerge.

Source: Briefly News