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Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has commended the successful rescue operation of the 644 workers who were trapped underground at a Springs mine.
The mine workers were successfully evacuated after a fire broke out underground at the Gold One’s Modder East operations in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“We commend all the rescue teams involved, as well as the mine employees and management, for their swift action in ensuring that we avert a potential disaster,” said Mantashe.
The minister also reiterated a call to mining companies to prioritise the safety of mineworkers, and to ensure that everyone adhered to the guidelines provided for safety at the mines.
The early morning rescue operation saw all 644 miners being safely brought to the surface after a swift response by rescue workers, who evacuated the workers to the mine’s refuge bays where they were all brought to the surface.
The incident comes after trade unions and Parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral resources last week called for legislation to be overhauled, and for mining bosses to be held personally accountable for safety, in a move to try and bring down the death rate in South Africa’s mines
The call for change in legislation followed the death of six people in an underground fire at the Palabora Copper Mine in Limpopo – the third mining disaster in two months.
After the incident, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, said that the mining industry did not value the lives of African workers in the sector and that was why South Africa continued to see high numbers of fatalities in the industry.
“One death underground is far too many and we have seen shockingly high levels of fatalities in the sector in recent years,” said Hlubi-Majola.
Numsa has reiterated calls made by the South African Federation of Trade Unions for the Mine Health and Safety Act to be amended to allow for the prosecution of mine bosses if workers are killed underground.
