We are protecting his full identity as he fears reprisals from the vicious criminal gangs that run the illegal mining industry for speaking to the media. He says criminal gangs specifically target children to work in illegal mines across South Africa. Some are recruited solely for that purpose, because of the financial incentives that will come with the practice of maybe trading sex underground." The authorities had been trying to curb illegal mining, which the government said cost South Africa's economy $3.2bn (£2.6bn) in lost revenue last year. Save the Children South Africa helped translate some of the interviews between the underage miners and the rescue workers.