Eight illegal miners facing charges of kidnapping, illegal mining and contravening the Immigration Act made a brief appearance in the Sabie Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga.

The eight are suspected of being the kingpins who kidnapped the other foreign nationals and forced them underground to mine illegally.

The matter has been postponed to 18 December for legal representation to be appointed.

Meanwhile, the 135 illegal miners who claimed to have been forced underground by the alleged kingpins are also facing charges of contravention of the Immigration Act of South Africa.

The victims were all retrieved from the South Sabie disused mine in Mpumalanga last week.

VIDEO | Last man brought to the surface at Sabie mine shaft in Mpumalanga.

Their case has been postponed to 11 and 19 December to allow the court to get language interpreters for the Zimbabweans and Mozambican alleged victims.

The state also indicated that assessments will be carried out on the victims.