Johannesburg — More than 4,000 miners locked in a standoff with South African authorities over illegal mining were believed to be sick and increasingly weak inside an abandoned mine shaft Thursday. South African police confirm the partly decomposed body ...

Officials are hoping the strategy will force the workers out of the mineshaft and to the surface, where they will be arrested.

South Africa's rand was stable early on Thursday after trading turbulently in the days after Donald Trump's U.S. election win, ahead of September's mining production data. At 0803 GMT, the rand traded at 18.

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 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.

Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry.

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