Stilfontein Mine: Illegal Miners’ Gauteng High Court Application Postponed

• The application brought before the high court for relief for the reportedly trapped illegal miners at Stilfontein has been postponed
• Over 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced from an abandoned shaft at the sealed-off mine between 18 October and 5 November
• The matter, initially set down for Tuesday, 19 November 2024, will now be heard on 21 November, as a tense standoff continues

TSHWANE — The high court application for intervention in the standoff at the Stilfontein mine, which has seen scores of illegal miners reportedly trapped underground for the past several weeks, has been postponed.

Following an earlier interim court order, the Gauteng High Court in Tshwane was scheduled to hear the matter on Tuesday, 19 November 2024.

Illegal miners' application postponed

The civil rights watchdog, Society for the Protection of our Constitution (SPOC) applied on 14 November for relief for the trapped persons amid a tense wait for the zama zamas who went down an abandoned mine shaft to re-emerge.

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In granting the application two days later, the court ruled that the shaft could not be blocked for any reason, instructing that the people inside be allowed out.

However, the police, who said they welcomed the order, said the scores of people inside the mine were refusing to surface, fearing arrest and persecution.

Since then, the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has been investigating allegations that the police had restricted essential supplies, such as food, water, and medication, from reaching the illegal miners.

However, the police have refuted the claim.

Provincial spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said authorities were sending food down using a rope after a note from the illegal miners on 18 November detailed a request for antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication.

The SPOC's application has been postponed until Thursday.

Meanwhile, three more miners resurfaced on 16 November, following three more two days earlier, along with a decomposed body.

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Over 1,000 illegal miners have risen back to the surface between 18 October and 5 November amid reports of starvation.

Source: Briefly News