Extracting illegal miners from Stilfontein shaft could take days

STILFONTEIN - It could be a matter of days before hundreds of illegal miners are hauled back to the surface at an abandoned mine in Stilfontein in the North West.

Scores of zama zamas are refusing to resurface from a shaft where an intricate network of illegal miners has been operating for years.

In a bid to resolve the long-standing crisis of illegal mining in the area, law enforcement recently intensified Operation Vala Umgodi.

ALSO READ:

• Plan in motion to rescue miners at abandoned shaft in Stilfontein

• Didiza admits 'Operation Vala Umgodi' at Stilfontein mine presenting a dilemma for govt

• Volunteers temporarily suspend rescue efforts at abandoned mine in Stilfontein

• WATCH: Desperate illegal miner wants to go underground to earn a living

• Community members in Stilfontein blame govt's failures for rise in illegal mining

• Court bars law enforcement from blocking aid to illegal miners at abandoned Stilfontein mine

So far, more than 1,000 illegal miners have been arrested.

It's a technical, complicated and costly plan but it’s short on specifics of what it entails, other than a clear agenda to shut down the criminal enterprise operating underground.

MEC for Community Safety in the North West, Wessels Morweng: "They first have to clear the site and make sure they put the machinery underground and there's some communication that we must take underneath to communicate to the illegal miners underground that they need to be in a safe spot so that we do not lose more lives in the process. That is the long and short of the plan and we are commencing as government with the plan."

Once the procurement processes have been followed, Morweng said that teams could be on site as early as Tuesday.

A clear timeline is yet to be set out.