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The most shocking thing for Jonathan was that he endured six tough months in an abandoned South African gold mine, working underground, was the abuse he witnessed.
Activists say some are recruited for cheap labor, but some are brought specifically for sex.
Now in his 20s, Jonathan has moved from a nearby country to South Africa and promised to work in one of its dozens of abandoned mines as they are no longer commercially viable.
We are protecting his full identity as he fears retaliation for the vicious criminal gangs in the illegal mining industry who spoke to the media.
At the end of last year, when the mine was blocked by police, what details appeared after the young man died in dozens of illegal miners near the town of Steefontein.
Jonathan described calories, long foods and limited food and sleep options in a calm and steady voice that cost his body.
But lasting memory is what happened to the underage miner of the axis of his work.
“I once saw these kids in the mines – actually 15-year-old, 17-year-old teenagers.
“Other people have used them sometimes. It's a little scary, and I'm not happy with it.”
He said they were raped by adult miners and they promised to give them some gold for sexual acts.
“If that kid is eager for money, he will take risks.”
Jonathan described how the kids would be protected with the miner team, but “the team will have the conditions.”
Sex is also used as punishment if teenagers fail to complete their team tasks.
Jonathan said the kids in the mine where he worked were all foreign and didn't realize what they had entered.
Illegal miners enter abandoned mines through abandoned shafts, often descending kilometers and unable to leave for months [AFP]
Mining researcher and activist Makhotla Sefuli supports this.
He said the criminal gangs are specifically targeting children's illegal mines in South Africa.
Many of them were kidnapped and trafficked by neighboring countries. They were attracted by unfounded commitments to find jobs in the formal mining industry.
“When they arrived in South Africa, their passports were confiscated … as we all know, these young boys are being abused.”
The BBC spoke with at least two miners working in illegal mines and told us they saw their children being abused on the axis of work.
Tshepo, not his real name, said he saw older men force little boys to have sex with them.
“In some cases, they do it for the money. Some are recruited for this purpose because the economic incentives that will be brought about will be practiced with underground trading.”
He added that abuse had a profound impact on the children.
“They changed their behavior patterns and had trust issues. They didn't want you to get close to them because they felt they couldn't trust anyone anymore.”
South Africa's illegal mining industry made global headlines last year because of a deadlock between police and miners and a confrontation between miners near the town of Steelfontein in the northwest province.
Authorities have been trying to curb illegal mining, with South Africa losing $3.2 billion (£2.6 billion) in revenue last year.
They launched an action in December 2023 called Vala Umgodi or Seal Hole, promising a firm stance against the gang.
As part of the operation, police restricted food and water down the Steele Fontane mine to what a minister said, “smoking” the illegal miners. Officials said the men refused to come out because they were afraid of being arrested.
Soon, the camera began to appear from the mine, showing dozens of people who were begging to be rescued and a row of corpse bags. Ultimately, the court ordered the authorities to save the men.
Among those who grew up, many said they were underage, but many were immigrants and did not confirm their age and the authorities conducted medical tests to obtain estimates.
Through this, the Ministry of Social Development (DSD) confirmed that 31 of the rescued Stilfontein miners were found to be children. They are all Mozambique people, and in November, 27 of them were repatriated.
Save the Children South Africa Children helped translate some interviews between underage miners and rescue workers.
“They went through trauma because some of them saw others being sexually exploited, too,” the charity CEO Gugu XABA told the BBC.
“It’s just that the feeling they might not come out of there destroys the spirits of these kids.
“Adult miners will embellish them with performances that they like they like.”
She said the kids were then allowed to have sex with adults and then raped day after day.
“You find that adults will have three or four of them doing the same.”
“Most children are trafficked to be used as sex slaves. And, you have a pimp who is taking money” Source: Gugu Xaba, Source Description: CEO, Save Children South Africa, Image: Head and Shoulders, photographed a woman with gray hair and glasses.
Ms Xaba said the mining gang recruited children because they were easier to manipulate and cheaper.
“When do the kids understand: ‘I give you R20 per day ($1; £0.80).’ Adults sometimes refuse to work, but kids have no choice, so it’s easier to use kids.
Besides being financially exploited, there are gangs that recruit children specifically for sex.
Many illegal miners spend months underground, and rarely surface. The market emerges underground, giving them everything they need.
“Most children are trafficked to be used as sex slaves. And you have a pimp who is taking money, which means that the child is used as a commercial sex worker every day.”
The BBC asked police and DSD if anyone was prosecuted for sexual abuse allegations. They did not respond to our request.
Sources working in the Stilfontein miner case said many children do not want to testify.
At the same time, the illegal mining industry continues to flourish.
An estimated 6,000 vacant mines may be explored, a business that is unlikely to end at any time, putting thousands of vulnerable children at risk.
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