The move by the government is part of Operation Vala Umgodi, or "Close the Hole", which is directed at illegal mining activities.

It is part of the police's Vala Umgodi, or Close the Hole, operation to combat illegal mining. It includes cutting off illegal miners' supplies to force them to return to the surface and be arrested.

South Africa’s government says it will not help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province as part of an official policy against illegal mining

South Africa's government says it will let thousands of illegal miners starve until they accept their fate and emerge from an abandoned shaft to face arrest.

South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.

Up to 4,000 illegal miners are estimated to be underground in an abandoned mine while South African authorities try to clear them out and arrest them. View on euronews