Fourteen illegal miners were arrested after they resurfaced from shaft 10 at Stilfontein mine just after midnight. This was confirmed by the police, who also said the zama zamas are all Mozambicans.

THEY RESURFACE AT NIGHT TRYING TO EVADE ARREST

National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said that zama zamas opted to emerge late at night, assuming the police were no longer present. "A total of 14 illegal miners resurfaced last night, proving that they are not trapped. They just refuse to resurface. They chose to come out late at night, thinking the police were no longer standing static. Others ran back into the shaft as soon as they noticed the police presence. They are all Mozambicans," Mathe said. She added that the police were able to apprehend the miners and an assessment was conducted. "Those needing medical attention received it on-site, while all of them were being processed and detained. They are all in custody and the operation continues," Mathe said. Last week Operation Vala Umgodi Task Team and community leaders in Stilfontein urged illegal miners, who are still underground, to adhere to the call by police to resurface.

ARMED ZAMA ZAMAS KEEPING FOOD TO THEMSELVES UNDERGROUND

Mathe told SABC News that when interviewing the zama zamas, they told the police that there were heavily armed men inside the shafts who were not distributing food that was being provided to them because they did not want to stop the illegal mining operation. "They do tell us that the food and water were confiscated by these heavily armed men and they are not giving it to these illegal miners. They are keeping it for themselves because they want to continue with the illegal mining operation," Mathe said. Speaking to eNCA, the miners said they were recruited from Tembisa in Gauteng, and they accepted the jobs as they were unemployed. Among the zama zamas was a 14-year-old boy who said he took the opportunity because both his parents were unemployed. The illegal miners also claimed that when they came to Stilfontein in May, they did not have much information about the job and that they were only told that the job was in mining.