The death toll from a fire at an abandoned South African gold mine rose to at least 61 on Tuesday, making it the country’s worst such disaster in recent memory at an illicit mine.
The fire has raged for days at the mine, owned by Harmony Gold Mining Co, in the central Free State province whose many disused mines hold enough deposits to attract illegal mining syndicates.
A further 25 bodies were recovered on Tuesday.
“This is the worst ever such tragedy involving illegal miners in this country and we fear even more bodies may be found,” South African Minister of Mining Susan Shabangu said in a telephone interview after visiting the scene of the disaster.
“It is difficult to quantify how much gold they steal, but this is not a haphazard operation. This is organized crime and our target together with police is to get those behind it,” she said.
Gold prices near record highs have made the risk taken by well-organized illegal mining syndicates even more worthwhile, but many have paid with their lives — about 81 illegal miners have been killed in fires and other accidents so far this year.
Miners break through concrete seals on closed shafts. Sometimes they sneak past security and stay underground for months before leaving by shafts several kilometers away.
The bodies at Eland shaft, near the town of Welkom, were dragged by fellow miners from depths of up to 1.4km.
South Africa, the world’s third biggest gold producer, has the world’s deepest gold shafts, with some as deep as 4km.
“Companies may take a business decision to stop mining at a shaft for a while, but may plan to do so later. So any illicit mining is a big threat to them and the gold mining industry,” Shabangu said.
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