Ramaphosa calls for peaceful resolution to illegal miner standoff

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff between police and illegal miners at an abandoned mine in the northwest of the country.

In his weekly newsletter on Monday, he said the situation was precarious and could turn volatile, but urged the police to respect the miners’ rights and not put their lives at risk.

It is unclear exactly how many people have been holed up in this mine shaft in Stilfontein for the past month.

More than a thousand miners have surfaced in recent weeks and been arrested, but it is being reported that the number still underground could range from hundreds to thousands.

Ramaphosa has described the mine as a “crime scene” and defended the police for blocking their food and water supplies in a bid to force them out.

"It is standard police practice everywhere to secure a crime scene and to block off escape routes that enable criminals to evade arrest," he said.

However, a court over the weekend ordered an end to restrictions and food and water have since been sent down the shaft to give miners the strength to resurface.

Ramaphosa said the miners’ illegal activities posed a risk to a risk to “our economy, communities, and personal safety”.

Illegal mining has thrived in South Africa, both through small-time pilfering and organised criminal syndicates, costing the economy billions of rands in lost income.

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