ReutersA South African court has ordered that a police blockade of a disused gold mine, where hundreds of people are illegally present, be lifted.
In Stilfontein, about 90 miles southwest of Johannesburg, emergency services have been at the scene for several days. Police have stopped food and water entering the mine to, as one government minister put it, “smoke them out”.
The miners – who have been underground for a month – have so far refused to leave the mine for fear of being arrested. These include undocumented immigrants who are at risk of deportation.
Police welcomed the order but said it would not stop miners from arresting those who left the mine.
On Saturday, a court in Pretoria ruled that the mine “cannot be blocked by any person or entity whether public or private”.
It also stated that anyone in the mine must be allowed to exit, and that “no non-emergency personnel may enter the mine shaft”.
The order comes later. Dozens of volunteers entered the abandoned mine. To help the miners, who reportedly resorted to eating vinegar and toothpaste to survive. Volunteers said they pulled out a body from the mine on Thursday.
It also came as police called in experts to assess the integrity of the mines, to inform a decision on whether to force an evacuation, according to the AFP news agency.
Yasmin Omar, a lawyer who helped bring the court case, told state broadcaster SABC that the decision was a temporary order “that will at least give us emergency relief to people. [who] need”.
He said that the full hearing of the matter will be held on Tuesday.
“These people are dying underground,” Ms. Omar said, adding that the decree means authorities must “do everything that is appropriate to provide medical care to people underground.” .
In a statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) welcomed the court order, which it stressed did not stop officers from making arrests.
It said: “All those who recover will continue to be assessed by emergency medical personnel on site, as has been the case.
“Those who are in good health will be processed and detained. Those who need further medical attention will be taken to hospital under police supervision.”
Three of the miners had resurfaced at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Saturday, the SAPS added.
More than 1,000 miners have already been exposed and arrested.
South Africa is a country rich in minerals. According to official estimates, it holds about 30% of the world’s gold reserves and 88% of all platinum reserves.
But many mines have closed in recent years and miners have been fired, contributing to a black market that costs the South African government millions of dollars each year.
A.PWhile gold remains a valuable commodity, rising mining costs — exacerbated by power outages and deep deposits — have made the majority of mines unprofitable, according to the Minerals Council of South Africa, an industry body. Institution
In an effort to escape the poor conditions, miners and undocumented immigrants are increasingly entering the closed mines to mine their remaining reserves.
Some spend months underground, and illegal mining has spawned a small economy that provides miners with food and cigarettes.
However, the authorities are keen to end this practice. Illegal miners are sometimes recruited by criminal gangs and may be armed.
The SAPS has previously said that the resurgents from the Stilfontein mine included people from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
The force has launched a nationwide operation aimed at combating illegal mining and related criminal activities.
On November 3, it said at least 565 people had escaped from a mine in Orkney, southwest of Johannesburg.
But the South African Human Rights Commission said on Friday it had launched an investigation into the SAPS’ handling of the Stilfontein mine incident, following complaints that the blockade violated the miners’ right to life. .
