An estimated 4,000 illegal gold miners are hiding underground in South Africa after the government cut off food and water in a bid to “smoke” them out and arrest them.

The miners have been in a mine shaft in Stilfontein, North West Province, for about a month.

They have refused to cooperate with authorities because some are undocumented – coming from neighboring countries like Lesotho and Mozambique – and fear deportation.

Illegal miners are called “zama zama” (try your luck in Zulu) and operate in abandoned mines in the mineral-rich country. Illegal mining costs the South African government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales each year.

Many South African mines have closed in recent years and workers have been made redundant.

To survive, miners and undocumented immigrants go below the surface to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell on the black market.

Local residents begged authorities to help the miners, but they refused.

“We will smoke them out. They will come out. We are not sending aid to criminals. Criminals should not be helped – they should be persecuted (sic),” Minister of the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Wednesday.

The police are reluctant to enter the mine because some of the illegal immigrants could be armed.

Some are part of criminal syndicates or are “recruited” to be part of them, Busi Thabane, of the Benchmarks Foundation, a charity that monitors businesses in South Africa, told the BBC’s NewsDay programme.

Without any access to supplies, underground conditions would be dire.

“This is no longer about illegal miners: this is a humanitarian crisis,” Ms Thabane said.

On Thursday, community leader Thembile Botman told the BBC that volunteers used ropes and safety belts to pull a body out of the mine.

“The stench of decomposing bodies traumatized the volunteers,” he said.

It is not clear how the person died.

Although authorities blocked food and water, they temporarily allowed local residents to send supplies by rope.

Mr Botman said they communicated with the miners through notes written on pieces of paper.

The police blocked the entrances and exits to force the minors out.

This is part of Operation Vala Umgodi, or “Close the Hole,” to combat illegal mining.

Many South African mines have closed in recent years and workers have been made redundant.

So, to survive, miners and undocumented immigrants go below the surface to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell on the black market.

Five miners were pulled out Wednesday using a rope, but they were fragile and weak. Emergency services took care of them, then they were taken into custody.

Last week, 1,000 miners emerged and were arrested.

Police and military are still on the scene, waiting to arrest those who do not need medical attention after resurfacing.

“It’s not as easy as the police make it out to be: some of them fear for their lives,” Ms Thabane said.

Many miners spend months underground in dangerous conditions to provide for their families.

“For many of them, this is the only way to put food on the table,” Ms Thabane said.

Local residents also tried to convince the miners to come out of the mine shaft.

“These people need to come out because we have brothers there, we have sons there, the fathers of our children are there, our children are in trouble,” Emily Photsoa, ​​a senior citizen, told AFP. local resident.

The South African Human Rights Commission said it would investigate police for depriving the miners of food and water.

He said there were concerns that government action could impact the right to life.

Minister Ntshavheni’s remarks drew mixed reactions from South Africans, with some welcoming the government’s hardline approach.

“I love this. Finally, our government is not tiptoeing on these serious issues. Showing resolve will help this country,” one person wrote on X.

While others felt this position was inhumane.

“In my opinion, this kind of speech from the minister in the presidency is shameful and dangerous hate speech,” said one user.

Another wrote: “They are criminals but they also have rights.”

Illegal mining is a lucrative business in many South African mining towns.

Since December last year, nearly 400 large-caliber firearms, thousands of bullets, rough diamonds and cash have been confiscated from illegal miners.

This is part of an intensive police and military operation aimed at putting an end to this practice which has serious environmental consequences.