"There are eight bodies which were shot execution style," Paul Ramaloko of an elite police unit told AFP.
Two of them were found underground and six on the surface at an abandoned gold mine in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
Police spokesman LungeloDlamini said the eight had wounds on their upper bodies. They are yet to be identified.
"We don't know the motive behind the killings," said Dlamini.
Local media is speculating that they could have been killed by a rival illegal mining gang.
By Ruchi Singh
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