North West police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said the extortionists visited the Stilfontein site where mine rescue teams are setting up heavy machinery.

EFFORTS to reach illegal miners at the Buffelsfontein mine near Stilfontein in South Africa’s North West province have been frustrated by red tape and, according to one report, attempts to extort the rescue teams.

STILFONTEIN - Illegal miners refusing to resurface at an abandoned mine in Stilfontein are only likely to be brought back to the surface at the start of next week, as government intensifies plans to shut down the underground network. Hundreds of zama zamas fearing arrest remain underground at a shaft at the old Buffelsfontein gold mine.

Trapped Zama zamas in Stilfontein beg for ARVs and food, as authorities struggle to provide for the illegal miners amid ongoing rescue efforts.

A few weeks ago, a warning message typed by the authorities and translated into Sesotho, Xhosa and Tsonga circulated among illegal miners in Stilfontein, urging people underground to “exit at the Margaret Shaft as it is the safest existing exit”.

North-West Community Safety MEC Wessels Morweng told Briefly News a rescue operation was underway at Stilfontein in Klerksdorp to bring up the illegal miners.

The Stilfontein gold mine saga has taken a twist with reports that an individual attempted to illicit a cut from a team of rescuers at the mine. The rescuers were deployed by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu at the Stifontein mine last week.

South African authorities are embroiled in a standoff with an unconfirmed number of illegal miners who remain underground at an abandoned mine, apparently fearing arrest by police officers deployed at the site.

Estimated hundreds of illegal miners are still being trapped underground in South Africa's North West province after a court has ordered police to let them leave. For weeks, authorities had blocked supply lines of food and water to force the miners out.