THULANI Ngubane, one of the directors of Aurora Mine, said he had received a message on Tuesday about the shooting.

'I have since requested a full report from the security firms that guard the mine so I cannot comment any further,' he said.

Ngubane also said he knew about the criminal incidents taking place on the mine and that the illegal miners had in the past shot security guards.

'One of the security guards was shot dead a day before yesterday (Monday) and one was kidnapped by the thugs,' said Ngubane.

Department of Mining spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said his department was not aware of the shooting of illegal miners at Aurora.

'This is an unlikely matter for police to deal with,' said Michaels.

'The issue of illegal miners is dealt with by the department of state security formerly known as intelligence.'

He said the department will pass the information to the investigating agency.

Mining Minister Susan Shabangu said last year that cabinet had noted the serious nature of the threat illegal mining poses to the country and took a decision that the matter be attended to by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, a 'relevant structure to deal with this criminality'.

Sowetan has in the past few months reported a series of stories telling the plight of the starving miners living in the mine hostel.

They have been left to fend for themselves and cannot go home because they have not received their salaries for months.

Since Aurora ran into financial difficulties early this year, the mineworkers have not been paid, living on a bowl of soup and a quarter loaf of bread a day.