MASERU — The number of Basotho men who perished in the Welkom illegal mining disaster has soared to 46 following the discovery and identification of more bodies this week.
The Lesotho consular based in Welkom, Sethunya Koqo, said the number had increased because some families from Lesotho have been able to identify eight more bodies since last Wednesday.
The Lesotho Times revealed last week that 38 illegal miners from Lesotho had died in the accident that South African officials are now describing as the worst illegal mining disaster.
Koqo said five more bodies had been discovered this week to bring the death toll from the Eland shaft disaster to 91.
The five were brought to the surface by other illegal miners who are still underground and are refusing to come out fearing arrest.
Illegal miners who spoke to the Lesotho Times say the death toll is likely to continue rising.
An illegal miner who identified himself as Masheleng told the Lesotho Times through a telephone line in one of the disused shafts at Eland mine that there were still dead bodies underground.
“There are still dead bodies underground,” Masheleng said.
“However, we are determined to dig further.”
Masheleng said over a hundred illegal miners were still operating at Eland shaft.
Koqo said efforts were being made to make a comprehensive list of Lesotho nationals who were operating at the shaft.
He said this would help establish how many could have died in the accident or are still trapped underground and those that are refusing to come out.
He however said the Lesotho government would only make an effort to rescue the illegal miners if they have “solid confirmation that there are Basotho citizens still underground”.
“I have no doubt that the government will do all it can to help bring them to the surface once they are confirmed to be Lesotho citizens,” Koqo said.
Some illegal miners are however less worried about the dangers as they continue to steal gold from the abandoned shaft where the disaster happened.
Those who spoke to this paper from underground said despite the accident the illegal mining operations were continuing.
They said they had spread their operations to other neighbouring shafts that are interconnected with Eland.
An illegal miner who picked up the underground telephone receiver when this paper called on Tuesday said the miners had gone to dig in Geduldpan mine, about two kilometres west of Eland shaft.
Geduldpan is owned by Harmony together with 12 other shafts in the Welkom goldfields.
Miners can move from one shaft to the other using underground tunnels.
“We are moving on. To some of us it’s business as usual. The hunt for gold is still on,” said the miner.
He said for as long as the police want to arrest them, they will not come out.
Other mines in Welkom are Oryx and Beatrix but these are not owned by Harmony.
South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, has threatened to use the “full arsenal of laws” against illegal miners currently operating in various abandoned mines in the country.
In a statement released after the formation of the Stakeholders Forum on Illegal Mining on Saturday last week, Shabangu said the authorities will come hard on the miners.
“No amount of threats or intimidation will stop us and we are going to use the full arsenal of laws, ranging from organised crime to human trafficking, to put you behind bars for a long time,” Shabangu said.
“We are coming for you, no matter who and where you are,” she said.
The Stakeholders Forum is made up of government, mining companies, local business, trade unions and law enforcement agencies.
Shabangu said illegal mining was a threat to the economy.
She said the tragic deaths of illegal gold miners had highlighted the fact that this is no longer happening on a small scale.
“In the two weeks since the first 36 bodies were discovered on 1 June, it has become clear that this problem has now evolved to become an illicit industry run by criminal syndicates – and we are going to put a stop to it,” she said.
“This government will not allow criminals to run their own mining industry and we are taking firm steps to ensure that both the foot soldiers and the generals are apprehended.
“South Africa is a constitutional state with laws and therefore criminals will not be allowed to steal our minerals, threaten our economy and rob the state of revenue which could have been used to educate our children, to build houses, and so on,” she said.
Head of Communications in the mineral resources ministry, Jeremy Michaels, said due to the nature of the problem and the action to be taken by law enforcement agencies, the details of the operations would not be publicised.
More than 300 alleged illegal miners have also been arrested in the area in recent weeks.
