President Cyril Ramaphosa described the Stilfontein mine as a “crime scene”, on Monday, as he called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff at the disused mine shaft, where illegal miners are holed up.

The South African Police Service and government departments have been trying, for over a month, to surface the illegal miners from the abandoned North West gold mine.

While more than 1 000 miners have since surfaced and been arrested, it is believed that there are still hundreds of illegal miners in the shaft. Police had closed off the mine’s entrances and stopped supplies of water and food to the miners. However, the Pretoria High Court has since ruled that the shaft be unblocked by police to allow for food and water to reach the miners.

One body has been retrieved from the mine.

Ramaphosa said this operation formed part of government’s nationwide Operation Vala Umgodi crackdown to curb illegal mining activities in the country, which he said cost the economy billions in lost export income, royalties and taxes.

“We need to be clear that the activities of these miners are illegal. They pose a risk to our economy, communities and personal safety. The Stilfontein mine is a crime scene where the offence of illegal mining is being committed. It is standard police practice everywhere to secure a crime scene and to block off escape routes that enable criminals to evade arrest. In doing so, the police must take great care to ensure that lives are not put at risk and that the rights of all people are respected,” he said.

Miners who surface from the mine shaft are medically assessed and detained if found to be in good health. Others are transported to the hospital under police guard.

Ramaphosa said government was engaging with mining companies to ensure they carried out their responsibility to close or rehabilitate mines that were not operational.

However, he revealed that police believed that some miners underground were armed, which he suggested was expected, claiming that illegal miners were recruited by gangs involved with organised crime.

“The hazardous nature of illicit and unregulated mining poses considerable risk in terms of the presence of explosives, the inhalation of toxic fumes and the possible collapse of unstable mine shafts. This endangers not only the illegal miners, but also our police and other law enforcement agencies. Because of the many hazards such an operation poses, law enforcement agencies have been negotiating with the illegal miners since the stand-off began to get them to the surface and to safety,” Ramaphosa said.

He acknowledged the public debate around the rights of the illegal miners but pointed to documented violence and intimidation meted out by the miners, as well as crimes attributed to some, such as murder, rape and illegal immigration.

He also noted a gas explosion last year, that killed 16 people, in Boksburg, which was linked to illegal mining activities.

Ramaphosa assured that the police will carry out its operations safely at Stilfontein, to ensure low risk of harm to miners and police officers, but noted that the situation was “volatile”.

“As a country committed to the rule of law and dedicated to upholding the human rights of all, we will continue to work towards a peaceful resolution of the stand-off at Stilfontein,” he stated.