[Agenzia Fides] Johannesburg — At least 78 illegal miners have died in the Stilfontein gold mine in South Africa after the police blocked the entrance to the mine in August 2024 to force them to leave the site and surrender to the authorities. Since August last year, when the South African authorities decided to close the mine to counter widespread illegal mining, which, according to the Minister of Mines, has cost the South African economy more than $3 billion in 2024 alone, nearly 2,000 illegal miners have come out of the mine so far.
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