Each morning, Mzwandile Nkwai and his fellow volunteers walk to the old Buffelsfontein mine and begin an hour-long morning ritual of setting up their makeshift “rescue” operation.
The men, from the impoverished community of Khuma near Stilfontein in the North West, first unravel about 1,800m of rope, which they attach to a contraption that is anchored at different points around the top of the disused mine shaft.
Once set up, it will be used to hoist suspected illegal miners — who have reportedly been stranded underground for weeks — up to the surface.
The group of 15 then has the arduous task of lowering the rope into the deep shaft and pulling up a person — in one instance a corpse — tied to the other end. Most help pull, while others ensure the rope remains safely in place.
“It can take 45 minutes to an hour to pull up one person,” Nkwai told the Sunday Times, near the site of the community-led operation.
When the men become exhausted, they hand over to another team — also made up of 15 people — to continue with the job until “knock-off” time at 4pm.
This has been the routine for the past week, after police cordoned off other exits from the mine as part of an intensified effort to shut down illegal networks at several mines across the country.
“We usually arrive at 8.30am because we have to wait for the police to finish with their parade and then we start setting up.
“Our purpose for doing this is to save people so they can return to their loved ones. For those who have died, we want to help return their bodies to their families; you know how important this tradition is for black people.”
The volunteers comprise so-called zama zamas (illegal miners) and retrenched miners.
More than 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced in recent weeks, after Operation Vala Umgodi was mounted by police in the province. Police and soldiers began by blocking supplies of food, water and other necessities to the illegal miners in mid-October. Some of those who surfaced were arrested.
On Saturday, the Pretoria high court granted an interim order preventing police from blocking the mine and ordered that illegal miners be allowed to exit.
This after the organisation Society for the Protection of our Constitution approached the court for the urgent order, which was heard by Judge Brenda Neukircher.
The matter was postponed to Tuesday for the respondents, the ministers of police, health, mineral resources and cooperative governance, to make representations.
While the SA Police Service (SAPS) welcomed the court order, this did not prevent SAPS from performing its constitutional mandate, spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said.
“All those who resurface will continue to be assessed by emergency medical personnel on site, as has been the case. Those that are in good health will be processed and detained. Those that require further medical care will be taken to hospital under police guard,” Mathe said.
Saturday morning, a South African citizen was arrested at a house in Kanana where there was a smelter.
By 4pm on Saturday, three more illegal miners had managed to resurface, Mathe confirmed.
Meanwhile, North West MEC for community safety Wessels Morweng held a meeting with stakeholders who form part of a rescue team established by police minister Senzo Mchunu.
Mchunu visited the scene on Friday and appointed Morweng to develop a rescue plan to bring the illegal miners to the surface.
This included a request to mine owners and rescue specialists to help with the operational planning to rescue those stuck underground.
Among the illegal miners who chose to surface this week and face the law was Ayanda Ndabeni, who was hoisted up by volunteers on Wednesday.
He was taken to the Stilfontein police station but later released without being charged. The Sunday Times spotted the gum-booted young man at the police station, looking bewildered but surprisingly cleaner than the usual zama zamas captured by law enforcement.
On the other side of town, nearly 1km away from the site, Ndabeni's partner of six years shared her relief at news of his safe return to the surface.
“I was excited to see him but also a little shocked that he was in good health. I expected him to be sick or frail. But he was happy when I saw him, though I couldn't speak to him,” Priscilla Chauke said.
Chauke, 30, said she had last seen Ndabeni in July when he left to go “hustle” after losing his job. Ndabeni, who comes from Lusikisiki, has a brother and sister relying on him for financial support as he was the only one employed.
Chauke spoke of her distress over the past few weeks. Three of her cousins are still underground and their fate is unknown.
“I couldn’t sleep at night, I relied on medication to help me fall asleep. But now at least I'll be able to sleep — even though I still worry about my family members,” she said.
A 2021 report by auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke warns the department of mineral resources and energy had failed to put in place a plan to deal with derelict and ownerless (D&O) mines.
The report says the failure could delay by close to a century the rehabilitation of asbestos mines.
It says 6,100 D&O mines and 1,170 holings (mine openings) were identified. In 2010, the department had identified about 2,000 large-scale mines for rehabilitation by 2021. These mines posed the greatest risk to society and the environment. A total of 6,100 mines were identified for rehabilitation by 2038.
But by March 31, 2021, with the exception of certain asbestos mines, none of the 2,322 high-risk commodity D&O mines had been rehabilitated and the department had set no specific target apart from the overall 2038 deadline.
Of the 1,170 holings identified, only 43% (507 of them) were closed, with no target for the closure of those remaining.
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