South African police were in a standoff Friday with hundreds of illegal miners believed to be underground in a disused shaft, after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to “smoke them out.”Police have been trying for weeks to empty the abandoned gold mine in the North West province as part of a crackdown on illegal mining, which has plagued South Africa for decades through small-time pilfering and organized criminal networks.More than 1,000 illegal miners resurfaced after police cut off their food and water supplies, but a police spokesperson said hundreds more could still be underground. South African police officers escort community members to a mine shaft to negotiate with artisanal miners in Stilfontein on Wednesday. Emmanuel Croset / AFP via Getty ImagesA decomposed body was brought up on Thursday, with pathologists on the scene, spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said. On Wednesday, asked whether the government would send help to the zama-zamas — a local term for illegal miners from the Zulu expression for “taking a chance” — Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said: “We are not sending help to criminals. Illegal gold mining costs South Africa’s government and industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lost sales, taxes and royalties, according to an estimate by a mining industry body.

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Persons: Emmanuel Croset, Athlenda Mathe, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni Organizations: ” Police, Getty, ” Senior Locations: North West, South Africa, Stilfontein, AFP