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.

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

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.

Police guarding the Stilfontein mine have allegedly turned away food parcels for scores of zama zamas underground.

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 at the site.