Two hundred and twenty-five illegal miners resurfaced from an abandoned mine shaft in Orkney in the North West Province as a result of starvation and dehydration on Saturday.
National Police Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe says they are part of hundreds if not thousands of illegal minders who are stuck underground with no food, water or other necessities.
She says police and members of the SANDF have strategically blocked communities in and around the shafts from delivering food parcels and water to force them to the surface.
It forms part of Operation Vala Umgodi, a special task team that has yielded positive results nationwide.
Brigadier Mathe says they are closely monitoring illegal mining activities in the North West and will not back down until all have resurfaced.
She says that since December last year, police have seized R5 million in cash and uncut diamonds worth R32 million, and 13,691 suspects have been arrested across seven provinces.
The illegal miners are mostly Basotho Nationals, South Africans and people from Mozambique.
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