Tis story contains details, including a video, tat some people may find distressing.Te most socking ting for Jonatan, wo ad endured six gruelling monts living and working underground in an abandoned Sout African gold mine, was te abuse e witnessed being meted out to cildren.Some are recruited for ceap labour, but oters are brougt in specifically for sex, campaigners say.Jonatan, now in is late 20s, ad migrated to Sout Africa from a nearby country on te promise of making easy money working in one of its dozens of disused mines, closed by multinationals because tey were no longer commercially viable.We are protecting is full identity as e fears reprisals from te vicious criminal gangs tat run te illegal mining industry for speaking to te media.Details of wat te young people were going toug emerged after te deat of dozens of illegal miners near te town of Stilfontein late last year wen te mine was blockaded by police.In a calm and steady voice, Jonatan describes te eat, long ours and limited food and sleeping options wic took a toll on is body.But an enduring memory is wat appened to te underage miners in te saft were e worked."I used to see tese kids in te mine - teenagers actually, 15, 17-year-olds."Oters used to take advantage of tem sometimes. It was a little bit scary, and I wasn't comfortable wit it."e said tey were raped by adult miners wo promised to give tem some of te gold tey found in excange for sex."If tat kid is desperate for money, e will take te risk."Jonatan describes ow te cildren would approac teams of miners for protection but "tat team would ave conditions".Sex was also used as punisment if te teenagers failed to complete a task for teir team.Jonatan says te cildren in te mine were e worked were all foreign and did not realise wat tey were getting temselves into.Mining researcer and activist Makotla Sefuli backs tis up.e says criminal gangs specifically target cildren to work in illegal mines across Sout Africa.Many of tem are abducted from neigbouring countries and trafficked. Tey are enticed by baseless promises of finding tem employment in te formal mining industry."Teir passports are confiscated wen tey get to Sout Africa… It is common knowledge tat tese young boys are being abused," Mr Sefuli says.Te BBC as spoken to miners wo worked in at least two oter illegal mines wo told us tey saw cildren being abused in te safts were tey were working.Tsepo, not is real name, says e saw older men forcing young boys to ave sex wit tem underground."In some instances, tey did it for te money. Some are recruited solely for tat purpose, because of te financial incentives tat will come wit te practice of maybe trading sex underground."e adds tat te abuse deeply affected te cildren."Tey cange teir beaviour patterns and ave trust issues. Tey don't want you to get close to tem, because tey feel tat tey can no longer trust anyone."Sout Africa's illegal mining industry made global eadlines last year following a standoff between police and miners at te Buffelsfontein gold mine, near te town of Stilfontein in te Nort West Province.Te autorities ad been trying to curb illegal mining, wic te government said cost Sout Africa's economy $3.2bn (£2.6bn) in lost revenue last year.Tey launced an operation called Vala Umgodi, or seal te ole, in December 2023, promising to take a toug stance on te gangs.As part of te operation, te police limited te amount of food and water tat went down te Stilfontein mine to, as one minister put it, "smoke out" te illegal miners. Officials said te men were refusing to come out for fear of being arrested.Soon footage began to emerge from witin te mine sowing dozens of emaciated men begging to be rescued, as well as rows of body bags. Eventually a court ordered te autorities to save te men.Among tose brougt up were many wo said tey were underage, but as a number of tem were migrants witout documents confirming ow old tey were, te autorities carried out medical tests to get an estimate.Troug tis, te Department of Social Development (DSD) confirmed tat 31 of te rescued Stilfontein miners were found to be cildren. Tey were all Mozambicans nationals and in November, 27 of tem were repatriated.Save te Cildren Sout Africa elped translate some of te interviews between te underage miners and te rescue workers."Tey went troug trauma, because some of tem also saw oters being sexually exploited," te carity's CEO Gugu Xaba tells te BBC."Just te feeling tat tey may not come out of tere destroyed tose cildren mentally."Te adult miners would start by grooming tem, by acting like tey like tem."Se says te cildren were ten made to perform sexual acts on te adults and tey were ten raped, days after day."You find tat te adult will ave tree or four of tem tat tey are doing te same ting to."Ms Xaba says mining gangs recruit cildren because tey are easier to manipulate and ceaper."Cildren don't understand wen you say: 'I'll pay you 20 rands ($1; £0.80) per day.' Te adults sometimes refuse to work, but cildren find temselves wit no coice. So it's easier to use a cild to do te work. It's easier to take a cild wo's kind of voiceless and to bring tem down tere."Beyond being exploited financially, se says tere are gangs tat recruit cildren specifically for sex.Many illegal miners spend monts underground, rarely going up to te surface. Markets spring up underground to provide tem wit anyting tey need."Most cildren are trafficked in order to be used as sex slaves. And you've got a pimp wo is taking te money, and it means every day tis cild is used as a commercial sex worker."Te BBC asked te police and te DSD weter anyone would be carged over te sexual abuse allegations. Tey did not respond to our requests.A source working on te Stilfontein miners' cases said many of te cildren did not want to testify.Meanwile, te illegal mining industry continues to trive.And wit an estimated 6,000 vacant mines potentially available to explore, it is a business tat is unlikely to end anytime soon, leaving tousands of vulnerable cildren at risk.Additional reporting from Ed aberson, Nobule Simelane, Ezra Singapi, Cristian Parkinson and Stuart PillipsGo to BBCAfrica.com for more news from te African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafricaNatasa Akpoti-Uduagan accused one of te country's top politicians of trying to kill er.Te state department is imposing new sanctions on te country's government because of te findings.Josep Kabila faces te prospect of being tried in a military court for allegedly backing M23 rebels.African culture is being brougt to island scools as part of an awareness week.US President Donald Trump says a genocide is taking place in Sout Africa, a claim a judge dismissed as "imaginary".
BBC uncovers child sex abuse in South Africas illegal mines
