He was reacting to comments by South Africa’s Mineral Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe, when he said illegal mining, often involving Lesotho nationals, was economic sabotage.

Mantashe made the comments while visiting a disused mine in the Free State province where 31 suspected illegal miners are believed to have died underground.

So far three bodies have been recovered.

Meanwhile, the Lesotho government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Mining, says it is at an advanced stage of finding ways to bring to the surface the bodies of the illegal miners at a disused mine in South Africa’s Free State province.

--SABC--