[miningmx.com] – MINERS at Blyvooruitzicht, a gold mine near Carletonville, fear they will not be paid following a decision by Village Main Reef (VMR) to put the mine into provisional liquidation.
Citing spokesperson for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Lesiba Seshoka, BLive said this could be a potential repeat of events at the Grootvlei mine which was bought by under-capitalised Aurora Empowerment Systems.
The mine fell into disrepair after it was shut and ransacked while employees of the mine were not paid for months by Aurora which sought, but failed, to attract an offshore investor.
“Workers want to be paid, but where will they [liquidators] get the money?,’ BDLive quoted Seshoka to have said.
VMR directors Marius Saaiman and Ferdi Dippenaar, recently appointed CEO of the company, referred the matter to the mine’s liquidator which told BDLive that efforts were underway to make some “upfront payments” to workers.
Blyvoor incurred an R88m loss in the June quarter due to a declining gold price, rising costs and a “series of operational infrastructure challenges’, according to VMR.
About 1,700 people have been left without jobs, and are likely to soon be without housing and access to electricity, BDLive said. Workers protested at the mine this week, demanding information on the liquidation process.
They fear a “repeat of Aurora’, said Seshoka.
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