The prospectors were trapped underground for months as police, on orders from South Africa’s government, attempted to starve them out.

The national crackdown against illegal mining began in late 2023, in part spurred by the rise of violent crime in communities adjacent to mines taken over by heavily armed gangs who set up camp alongside them. In 2022, a group of eight women were raped in the town of Krugersdorp allegedly by illegal miners, sparking widespread outrage.