[miningmx.com] – THE Department of Mineral Resources (DMR)
confirmed it was cooperating with the South African Police Services (SAPS) in an
investigation into the deaths of up to 20 illegal gold miners that occurred on
the East Rand earlier this week.
Predictably, however, there’s little clarity on who might be responsible for the miners
getting access to the property. There’s even debate as to where the accident took
place, with the Joint Provisional Liquidators (JLP) of Grootvlei mine – the property
that Aurora Empowerment Systems was mining until recently – saying that miners
gained access on their side but died in the neighbouring and disused Gravelotte
workings. The JLP are liquidating a group of mines that is still legally owned by the
Pamodzi Group of companies.
A report in Miningmx’s possession indicates that the miners were in the
Gravelotte workings. After rock was blasted, the hanging wall – which had zero report
– fell on them.
According to records, the Gravelotte workings were once owned by Salene Mining, a
company owned by the Pouroulis family, and formed part of the Cons Modder
operations it operated in the late Nineties. It’s presently unknown if a closure
certificate has been granted on this property.
According to David Msiza, the Chief Inspector of Mines at the DMR, between five and
20 illegal miners may have lost their lives. “We don’t really keep data on illegal mine
deaths and in this instance, it’s the responsibility of the JLP,’ said Msiza. “We have
asked them to come to the party.’
Johan Engelbrecht, spokesman for the JLP, says they can bear no responsibility. “The
access to the Grootvlei mine can be plugged but the illegal miners can find other
ways around it, different access points,’ he says. “The situation is rife. We’ve even
heard that these criminals were part of a Barberton gang.’
If true, it’s possible there are illegal miners migrated from Pan African Resources’,
which went to great lengths to stem illegal mining at its Barberton gold operations.
Through all of this, there’s huge irritation among some gold miners that while the
DMR is hell-bent on enforcing Section 54 stoppages for minor offenses at operating
mines, with a concomittant effect on costs and production, it washes its hands of
illegal mining deaths.
However, Anton van Achterberg, from the Chamber of Mines’ legal department,
observes that if the mine is closed, there’s little liability to which the state can be
exposed. “To what extent should the state protect people against themselves if they
are involved in dangerous practices?’ he asks.
More so, if one considers that flushing out illegal mining practices can often come at
great risk to the security forces faced with booby traps underground, and occasionally
involved in running gun battles with armed illegal miners.
For now, the grisly job of uncovering more bodies is underway, with the DMR giving its
blessing to the dispatch of Mine Rescue Services which will work with SAPS.
Given the volume of rock that is thought to have fallen while the miners were
blasting, it’s unlikely that many bodies will ever be retrieved.
