[miningmx.com] — More bodies were expected to be retrieved after four were pulled out of Aurora’s Grootvlei mine in Ekurhuleni on Thursday, following
a shooting three days ago, Gauteng police said.
“We can confirm that four bodies were recovered from underground at the mine and we are still trying to retrieve more, but we cannot say how many are still under,” said Colonel Noxolo Kweza.
Kweza said she could not say if there was a shoot-out between miners and security guards. That would only be determined after autopsies were conducted.
The Aurora Mine, between Springs and Benoni, is co-owned by President Jacob Zuma’s nephew Khulubuse and Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa.
According to a Sowetan report published on Thursday, security guards allegedly shot at least 20 people at the mine and left the bodies underground for days.
It was still not clear if those killed were illegal miners or unpaid Aurora employees.
The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) said in a statement it was shocked by reports of the shooting. The union linked the shooting to the mine’s failure to pay its workers, leaving them “to fend for themselves”.
“Num calls for an urgent investigation into these allegations and whether or not these were indeed illegal miners,” spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said.
The mine’s officials were not immediately available to comment.
However, website miningmx.com reported that Aurora Empowerment Systems confirmed there were illegal miners killed at Grootvlei.
Thulani Ngubane, commercial director at the Grootvlei mine, was quoted by the website denying that 20 people were killed, as reported by the Sowetan.
“Last week one of our security guards was shot dead and another kidnapped by these illegal miners,” he said.
Ngubane said mine management had been alerted to “a situation” after a kidnapped guard managed to escape. The company has to date reported over 35 cases of illegal mining to the police.
Reports of a rampage by workers could not be true, said Ngubane, as Grootvlei has been shut following a wage-related strike since April.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) backed the Num’s call for an urgent and independent investigation into these allegations and into whether or not these were illegal miners.
Anyone guilty of unprovoked shooting should be charged, tried and punished.
“Cosatu does not condone illegal mining, but even if the people killed were involved in illegal mining, that in no way justifies the brutal response allegedly meted out by the security guards.
“They have the same constitutional right as every other citizen to a fair trial and appropriate sentence,” the union federation said.
The ANC described it as a “senseless killing”.
“The mine management and the responsible security company should have sought the assistance of the South African Police on suspicion of crime being committed in their mine, rather than shooting at first instance,” party spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.
“We appeal to our law enforcement agencies to investigate this matter with the urgency it deserves.”
Department of mineral resources spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said the shooting was a criminal matter and needed to be investigated by law enforcement agencies.
