South Africa Faces Outcry as Stilfontein Mine Tragedy Unfolds

As of mid-May 2025, South Africa is grappling with the aftermath of one of its deadliest illegal mining disasters, centered on the abandoned Buffelsfontein gold mine near Stilfontein. The incident has exposed deep systemic failures at the intersection of poverty, criminality, and policy neglect. At least 87 illegal miners, locally known as zama zamas, have died after being trapped underground for several months. These miners had entered the disused shafts in search of gold, driven by economic desperation and under the influence of organized criminal syndicates that increasingly control South Africa’s abandoned mining infrastructure.