Child sex ring horror in South Africa's illegal mines: Witnesses describe how youths are sent underground and passed around by miners to be raped
Underage workers are being abused in illegal South African gold mines, an investigation has found.
Minors are being recruited for both cheap labour and to exploit them for sex, according to the BBC.
Most of the children in the mine are foreign and do not understand what they are getting into, according to a whistleblower.
Jonathan, now in his late 20s, had migrated to South Africa from a nearby country on the promise of making easy money working in one of its dozens of disused mines.
These mines have previously been closed by multinational firms due to a lack of commercial viability, but are still utilised by illegal workers and controlled by criminal gangs.
During his six months labouring underground, he said workers faced long hours with limited food and sleeping options in hot conditions at a mine near Stilfontein, which was put under siege by police last year. Up to 100 miners are believed to have died in the blockade.
However, Jonathan, who's identity is being protected for fear of retribution from the criminal gangs who operate the mines, also spoke of the horrific treatment of underage miners.
Sex was used by adult workers both as a punishment for the child workers and as 'payment' for any gold they found.
These mines have previously been closed by multinational firms due to a lack of commercial viability, but are still utilised by illegal workers
'I used to see these kids in the mine - teenagers actually, 15, 17-year-olds,' he told the BBC.
'Others used to take advantage of them sometimes. It was a little bit scary, and I wasn't comfortable with it.
'If that kid is desperate for money, he will take the risk.'
Tshepo, another former worker turned whistleblower, said older men were sexually abusing underage workers while underground.
He added: 'In some instances, they did it for the money.
'Some are recruited solely for that purpose, because of the financial incentives that will come with the practice of maybe trading sex underground.
'They change their behaviour patterns and have trust issues. They don't want you to get close to them, because they feel that they can no longer trust anyone.'
Save the Children South Africa have said that adults working in the mine groom the children over time before the abuse.
The charity's CEO Gugu Xaba said: 'They went through trauma, because some of them also saw others being sexually exploited.
'Just the feeling that they may not come out of there destroyed those children mentally.
'You find that the adult will have three or four of them that they are doing the same thing to.
'Most children are trafficked in order to be used as sex slaves. And you've got a pimp who is taking the money, and it means every day this child is used as a commercial sex worker.
'Children find themselves with no choice. So it's easier to use a child to do the work.'
Mining researcher and activist Makhotla Sefuli said criminal gangs specifically target children to work in illegal mines across South Africa.
Many of these children are abducted from neighbouring countries and trafficked under the false promise of formal employment in the mining industry.
He said: 'Their passports are confiscated when they get to South Africa.
'It is common knowledge that these young boys are being abused.'
Authorities have attempted to curb illegal mining, launching a major operation in December 2023 called Vala Umgodi - translated as 'seal the hole'.
Last year a standoff between police and miners at the Buffelsfontein gold mine, near the town of Stilfontein, saw authorities cut off any food, water or medical supplies going into the mine in order to force workers to the surface.
The Department of Social Development (DSD) confirmed that 31 of the rescued Stilfontein miners were found to be children. They were all Mozambicans nationals and in November, 27 of them were repatriated.
The police and DSD did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by the BBC.
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