This story contains video that some people may find upsetting.
Last year, after claiming that the miners entered the Stilfontein mine deliberately without permission, the authorities took a hard line, cutting off food and water supplies.
In November, one government minister said: “We’re going to smoke them out.”
More than 100 illegal miners, known locally as “zama zamas,” have reportedly died underground since the crackdown began at the mine about 145 km (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.
Authorities, however, have not confirmed the figure as it has yet to be “verified by an official source”, a spokesman told the BBC.
Disturbing footage emerged on Monday showing the horrific conditions at an abandoned gold mine.
One film, which has not been independently verified by the BBC, shows corpses wrapped in makeshift body bags. The second shows the mutilated figures of some miners who are still alive.
Hundreds are believed to still be in the mine, while more than 1,000 have surfaced in the past few months.
In one of the videos released by the General Industries Workers of South Africa (Giwusa) union, dozens of shirtless men can be seen sitting on a dirty floor. Their faces were blurred. A male voice is heard offscreen saying that the men are hungry and need help.
