Read this article in:
30 July, 2007
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) again mourns the deaths of miners in South Africa. On 20 July, two miners perished 3,000 metres underground at AngloGold Ashanti’s Moab Khotsong mine near Orkney in Free State.
The two miners became trapped when the ground around them caved in. Their bodies were recovered on 22 July. A third miner was rescued in the cave-in and was reported in stable condition in a hospital.
The two deaths push AngloGold’s death rate in South Africa to 11 this, and the total recorded number of recorded deaths in the country’s mining sector to 110. AngloGold’s sister company, AngloPlatinum, leads all mining concerns in South Africa in recorded deaths with 17.
A day after the bodies at Moab Khotsong mine disaster were found, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica visited the site. She took the unusual step of ordering the mine closed, pending an investigation. Speaking to reporters, she said that her ministry would begin more rigid inspections and that profits must not come before lives.
Because of the rising death toll in South Africa’s mines this year, the NUM has called for an urgent tripartite meeting to rescue South Africa's Mining Health and Safety Summit in order to address the current deficiencies in mine safety.