Rescue workers at the Sibanye-Stillwater mine near Westonaria, west of Johannesburg, are still searching for one missing man, after retrieving four bodies from the mine earlier this week.
Five miners went missing on Monday after they entered an "abandoned working place" at the Kloof Ikamva shaft.
On Wednesday, a representative of the mine said rescue operations were ongoing to retrieve the fifth miner.
Earlier in the week, Sibanye-Stillwater spokesperson James Wellsted said it was doubtful that he was still alive.
Wellsted did not want to comment on what the miners were doing in an area that had been abandoned, but said the temperatures were high in that area, and that it did not have proper access to oxygen.
Sibanye-Stillwater said a "thorough" investigation into the incident would be undertaken.