The South African government says it has put together a team including mine rescue experts to come up with a plan to bring to surface illegal miners who remain under a disused gold mine.

South African police were in a standoff on Thursday with hundreds of illegal miners believed to be underground in a disused shaft, a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to "smoke them out".

Senzo Mchunu's comments seem more conciliatory than those of a cabinet minister who previously said the government would not send help because they were "criminals".

South Africa’s government will not help the illegal miners inside a closed mine as part of an official policy against illegal mining

Desperate relatives of possibly hundreds of illegal miners stuck underground in a disused mine shaft in South Africa waited outside the site on Friday in the hope that their loved ones would emerge safely.

Illegal miners are called "zama zama" ("take a chance" in Zulu) and operate in abandoned mines in the mineral-rich country. Illegal mining costs the South African government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales each year. Many South African mines have closed down in recent years and workers have been sacked.

The South African government has assembled a team of mine rescue experts to devise a plan for bringing illegal miners to the surface from a disused gold mine.

South Africa’s government says it will not help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province as part of an official policy against illegal mining

South Africa's government says it will not help an estimated 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.

Several hundred people are believed to remain in an illegal mine in South Africa after the government cut off vital supplies and refused to help them, in a dramatic bid to crack down on the industry.