---
title: "‘We will smoke them out’ - Ntshavheni talks tough amid scepticism over number of zama zamas trapped underground"
description: "It seems doubtful that anything approaching an accurate roll call could have been undertaken in such circumstances. ‘Thumbsuck’ is the term that immediately comes to mind."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "SURRENDER OR STARVE"
author: "Ed Stoddard and Neesa Moodley"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ed-stoddard-and-neesa-moodley/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-11-13-we-will-smoke-them-out-ntshavheni-talks-tough-amid-scepticism-over-number-of-zama-zamas-trapped-underground/"
published: "2024-11-13T22:19:48"
updated: "2024-11-14T23:10:25"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 469
---

# ‘We will smoke them out’ - Ntshavheni talks tough amid scepticism over number of zama zamas trapped underground

> It seems doubtful that anything approaching an accurate roll call could have been undertaken in such circumstances. ‘Thumbsuck’ is the term that immediately comes to mind.

By Ed Stoddard and Neesa Moodley · Published 14 November 2024, 00:19 SAST · Updated 15 November 2024, 01:10 SAST

## Key points
- As the government gears up to "smoke out" an estimated 4,000 illegal miners trapped underground in Stilfontein, scepticism reigns supreme over the accuracy of that figure.
- Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni vows to "smoke out" illegal miners trapped underground near Stilfontein, with reports suggesting up to 4,000 zama zamas are stuck.
- Police previously used a "surrender or starve" tactic, resulting in hundreds of arrests in nearby Orkney, raising doubts about the accuracy of current estimates.
- Mining analysts question the 4,000 figure, suggesting it may be inflated to manipulate humanitarian aid efforts while sustaining illegal operations.
- The surge in gold prices continues to attract unemployed individuals from Lesotho and Mozambique, exacerbating the illegal mining crisis in South Africa.

## Content

Amid reports that as many as 4,000 illegal miners are somehow stuck underground near the North West town of Stilfontein, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told the media on Wednesday: “We will smoke them out.”

But just how many need to be “smoked out” by the “surrender or starve” strategy undertaken by Operation Vala Umgodi - which seeks to disrupt illegal mining - is anyone’s guess.

Earlier this month, police said hundreds of zama zamas were arrested in the North West town of Orkney after the police choked off their food and water supplies, forcing the illegal miners to the surface.

**Read more:**[Hundreds of illegal miners arrested after underground food and water supplies cut](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-11-03-hundreds-of-illegal-miners-arrested-after-underground-food-and-water-supplies-cut/)

The region is a hive of zama zama activity and Daily Maverick understands that attention has now turned to another shaft where the state is trying to “smoke them out”.

Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone, a spokesperson for North West SAPS, said a volunteer went down the mine shaft on Tuesday and reported that there were an estimated 4,000 zama zamas trapped below, and they were very weak from lack of food and water.

But there is reason to be sceptical about that number.

“He tried to do a head count, but we are still trying to confirm the exact number that was trapped. Neighbouring mines have indicated that they are unable to help as this particular shaft is unsafe,” said Mokgwabone.

It seems doubtful that anything approaching an accurate roll call could have been undertaken in such circumstances. ‘Thumbsuck’ is the term that immediately comes to mind.

Mokgwabone said refreshments were lowered to the zamas and police were hopeful that the illegal miners will emerge eventually.

Two mining security analysts who Daily Maverick spoke with said they doubted there were 4,000 zamas in the shafts, but as many as 2,000 was plausible.

One analyst suggested that the 4,000 figure might be a ruse to ensure that if humanitarian aid is sent below, there will be food supplies for some illegal miners to remain underground to continue to ply their dangerous but cash-spinning trade. Zamas spend weeks and even months underground, and rely on supplies from the surface to stay alive.

Ntshavheni’s remarks provoked outrage on social media site X, with more than one commentator calling them “inhumane” and “distasteful”.

The price of gold has been scaling record highs this year, providing an incentive for a swelling army of unemployed men - mostly from Lesotho and Mozambique, the old “labour-sending” areas for South Africa’s gold industry - to take the leap into the shafts to extract the precious metal, which often winds up getting laundered in refineries in Dubai and India.

It remains to be seen how many get “smoked out” in this chapter of Operation Vala Umgodi and those that are to follow. **DM**