Dangerously high levels of methane in a ventilation shaft of an unused mine have prevented rescue workers from retrieving 28 of the 31 illegal miners who died in a gas explosion last month.
The deaths in Virginia, Free State, were announced by the department of mineral resources & energy (DMRE) on Thursday — more than a month after the incident occurred.
Sihle Maake, the spokesperson for Harmony Gold which owns the mine, said they were working with experts under the guidance of the DMRE in "seeking a solution”.
“There are holes for the gas to escape through. Once enough gas has escaped and the levels are safer we can begin to attempt retrieving the bodies. This is a gradual process, and the situation will not change overnight. We are also investigating other options and possibilities.
“Once we informed the DMRE of the incident, the police automatically opened a docket. You must remember this was an illegal mining operation,” Maake said.
She said the shaft in which the miners died had been unused since the 1990s.
“We filled the shaft with rubble to seal it, put up a berm-wall with barbed wire and safety warning signs. As this incident proves, not even these precautions will keep illegal miners out of a mine if they want to get in.”
The moment it is safe enough to enter the shaft, we will commence the retrieval operation
— DMRE spokesperson Ernest Mulibana
Maake said they had alerted the DMRE about the incident more than a month ago.
“Some of the illegal workers survived and made it to the surface bringing three of their deceased colleagues with them.
“The men went home and informed the Lesotho government about the incident. We informed the DMRE on May 17.”
DMRE spokesperson Ernest Mulibana confirmed the nationality of the dead but said no-one had yet been identified.
“We are constantly testing the levels of methane in the shaft. The moment it is safe enough to enter the shaft, we will commence the retrieval operation.”
Mulibana refuted Maake's claims that the department had been told about the incident last month, saying it “only found out about the incident last week”.
“The survivors of the incident which is thought to have taken place on May 18 went back to Lesotho and informed their government upon which time the ministry of foreign affairs & international relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho relayed this message to the high commission of South Africa,” Mulibana said.
“Although information on this tragic situation comes sporadically, we are doing our best to act on the information, including information regarding three bodies which have been reported to be retrieved and brought to the surface by other illegal miners.”
Mulibana said the department was working in collaboration with Harmony Gold.
“DMRE inspectors have assessed the situation and determined that methane levels in the mine’s ventilation shaft number 5 are still very high. As such, it is too risky to dispatch a search team to the shaft. However, we are considering various options to speedily deal with the situation.”
Mulibana said the situation was "unique and strange" and that all efforts were being made to bring the bodies to the surface.
On Friday, in an interview with Newsroom Afrika, mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe had strong words for Lesotho.
“When we talked to Harmony, they said they saw dust coming out of the ventilation shaft on the 17th. They think that was the day of the methane explosion. They couldn’t suspect anything because it is a mine that is closed.
“Only on the 25th did they receive a message from the consulate of Lesotho that there was a possibility of 31 miners having died.
“The tricky inside of this story is that we have no access to information on this matter. I have established contact with the natural resources minister of Lesotho because they are more informed on this matter. Those who escaped ran to Lesotho and reported it,” Mantashe said.
He said the Lesotho government sent its minister of natural resources, Mohlomi Moleko, to Welkom on Thursday.
“He made a suggestion that sounded very strange to me. He said: ‘Let’s allow these illegal miners to go and retrieve these bodies.’ I asked him straightforward questions: ‘Should we knowingly send people into a methane infested shaft? What happens if more people die? Will you take responsibility?’ Only then did he wake up to the reality that methane does kill.
“It is quite a dangerous gas and therefore the mine and the department are looking at various options to make that area safe, like for example opening one of the sealed shafts to allow air to circulate and possibly reduce the methane levels.”
He claimed the Lesotho government was not doing its part in clamping down on illegal mining and accused it of “economic sabotage” and “war on our economy”.
On Friday, police discovered the bodies of eight suspected illegal miners at a dumping site in Germiston on the East Rand.
The bodies had already begun decomposing. It is understood the eight bodies were wrapped in white sacks.
Police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said it was unclear whether the decomposed bodies were linked to the 31 miners who died in the Free State.
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