NW Health Dept Plans Paupers’ Burials for Illegal Miners in Stilfontein

Stilfontein, South Africa – June 16, 2025 – The NW Health Dept plans to complete paupers’ burials for the remaining unclaimed bodies of illegal miners by the end of June or early July, following the tragic discovery of nearly 90 bodies in a decommissioned gold mine shaft earlier this year.

This mass burial effort is part of a broader response by the North West Department of Health to one of the most disturbing consequences of illegal mining in South Africa’s North West province.

The North West Department of Health announced that it has already buried 30 unidentified miners as paupers. DNA samples were extracted from the remains to allow for future identification if families from neighboring countries come forward. The remaining 23 bodies are scheduled to be buried by the end of this month or in early July.

NW Health Dept Plans Mass Burial Amid Ongoing Illegal Mining Crisis

The bodies were recovered earlier in 2025 during an intensive crackdown by South African police on illegal mining activities at the long-abandoned Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein. Authorities confirmed that nearly 90 bodies were pulled from an old shaft, highlighting the deadly risks associated with informal, unregulated mining.

So far, only 25 bodies have been positively identified and returned to families from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mozambique. Many of the miners are believed to have entered the shafts illegally in search of gold, driven by poverty and the lack of formal employment opportunities in their home countries.

The large-scale operation targeting illegal mining has also resulted in the arrest of nearly 2,000 individuals. Despite these efforts, activists argue that such operations fail to address the systemic issues fueling artisanal mining across the region.

Authorities say the scale of the illegal operations discovered at the site was significant, with entire networks involved in the extraction and trade of gold from abandoned mine shafts. The Buffelsfontein mine, once a productive gold mine, had been decommissioned for years but remained a hotspot for illegal activity.

In a memorial held recently at Shaft 10 and 11 in Stilfontein, community members and human rights organizations gathered to honor those who perished. The event was organized by Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) and supported by Lawyers for Human Rights.

“We’re here to reaffirm the humanity of those who died at Stilfontein. These miners were dehumanised. These miners were criminalised,” said Mametlwe Sebei, an attorney with Lawyers for Human Rights. “Nobody on the side of government and mining capital saw through their act of survival, past the fact that their actions were outside of the framework of the law.”

Activists argue that the tragedy at Stilfontein underscores the urgent need for the formalization of artisanal mining, which would not only regulate the industry but also protect the lives and rights of vulnerable individuals involved in small-scale operations.

For the North West Department of NW Health, the task of managing the mass casualties has stretched resources and raised broader questions about how government responds to the aftermath of illegal mining operations.

The department emphasized that all burials are conducted with dignity, and DNA records are securely stored. “Our commitment is to ensure these individuals are not forgotten,” a departmental spokesperson said.

The NW Health Dept plans to continue collaborating with law enforcement, forensic services, and consular offices from neighboring countries to facilitate potential repatriations if additional families come forward to claim remains.

NW Health -While the current operation in Stilfontein has brought attention to the scale of illegal mining in South Africa, experts and community leaders are calling for deeper, structural reforms.

“Criminalization and arrests alone won’t solve this,” said a representative from MACUA. “People are risking their lives because there are no formal pathways to earn a living in mining. If we want to prevent another Stilfontein, we must act now to legalize and regulate artisanal mining.”NW Health

For NW Health With more than 30 unclaimed bodies already buried and the final 23 expected to be laid to rest soon, the tragedy of Stilfontein remains a stark reminder of the human cost of illegal mining and the urgent need for reform.

As the NW Health Dept plans its final steps in the burial process, many are watching to see whether this disaster will finally lead to meaningful change—or simply fade into the background of South Africa’s complex mining legacy.

Source- EWN