On June 23, authorities announced that at least 31 illegal miners died more than a month ago in a gas explosion at a closed gold mine in South Africa, which was only discovered when locals reported missing relatives.
The miners are all believed to be from Lesotho, a neighbouring nation to South Africa.
The national Department of Mineral and Energy Resources stated in a statement that the mine search was being postponed because methane gas levels were still dangerously high in the ventilation shaft where the miners are believed to have perished.
The mine near Welkom, in the central Free State province, was originally managed by South Africa's largest gold-mining business but was closed down in the 1990s, the department said.
The department, which is the government body in charge of mining, stated that the specifics of the disaster were still being pieced together. Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane's spokeswoman claimed families of several miners had reported them missing, leading Lesotho's foreign ministry to approach South African authorities.
On May 18, the workers are believed to have died at Shaft 5 of the Virginia mine.
Illegal prospecting is common in South Africa's ancient gold-mining sites, when miners enter locked and often dangerous shafts to search for any treasures that have been left behind. Fatal accidents involving illegal miners are widespread, but often go undetected because survivors are terrified of being caught if they alert authorities. Illegal miners are frequently from neighbouring nations.
The mineral resources department says that three bodies were brought to the surface by other illegal miners, but there were possibly dozens more down in the Welkom mine.
"It is currently too risky to dispatch a search team to the shaft," the statement stated. "However, we are considering various options to deal with the situation as quickly as possible," the report clarifies.
The vast gold basin of South Africa runs roughly 155 miles south from Johannesburg to Welkom. It's dotted with abandoned mining shafts that are no longer profitable but offer potential for illegal miners to strike it rich, although with great hazards.
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