It will take R12m and, if all goes according to plan, 16 days to rescue the estimated 550 illegal miners trapped inside the Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, says the company tasked with the job.
However, heavy rain is already complicating preparation for the rescue operation involving a huge piece of equipment — a mobile rescue winder — that will be lowered into the mine ventilation shaft. It is due to be deployed from tomorrow.
The winder can lower a cage up to 3km into the earth at a rate of about 0.6m a second. Allowing for loading and offloading, it could retrieve about six people an hour, according to Mines Rescue Services (MRS) CE Mannas Fourie.
“We’re on site, scraping and compacting the ground to get our equipment and machine up to the shaft. But with the heavy rain it is muddy.”
This comes after a high court ruling on Friday that the government must urgently take responsibility for rescuing the miners trapped underground, as well as retrieving the bodies of the 109 miners who have died. One body was brought to the surface this week.
“We estimate that if we get in 10 hours of work a day and 550 people need to be rescued, with a contingency of 10%, it could take us 16 days if not hampered by the weather, at a rate of about 34 people per 10-hour shift,” Fourie said. If conditions allowed, working hours would be extended to maximum capacity.
The company’s estimates were based on information received after a camera was lowered more than a kilometre down, to a landing occupied by a group of miners.
“When I did the camera inspection we lowered a notepad and pen and they wrote me a note. They said there were about 480 people and they all wanted to come out. We also had a meeting with community members and they estimate about 800 people.”
Based on previous experience with illegal miners, the company did not expect resistance.
“I have extracted hundreds of illegal miners in a similar fashion and I’ve never experienced hostility. They see us as a resource of help. I think if we stop there [where the miners are trapped] they will get into the cage and come out.”
MRS uses trained rescuers linked to various private companies. The mobile rescue winder is a specialist machine designed and produced in South Africa.
The rescue operation is funded by the government as per the Pretoria high court order. The court also ordered the uninterrupted delivery of food and water to the trapped miners, putting an end to months of blame-shifting and debate over the government’s responsibilities towards those underground.
A failure to regulate artisanal and small-scale mining through legislation has been a significant contributing factor to this disaster.
— Lawyers for Human Rights
The legal bid was led by Lawyers for Human Rights which has regularly highlighted the inhumane and dangerous conditions underground. Affidavits submitted to the court describe miners trapped in confined spaces with dead bodies, starving and at risk of disease.
However, the state insists the illegal miners went into the mine voluntarily and at their own risk. There are concerns about the safety of rescuers working in dangerous conditions. Said Fourie: “It’s a highly dangerous and complicated situation not to be taken lightly.”
The Minerals Council South Africa has highlighted safety concerns related to illegal miners who for years have clashed with mine personnel and have been linked to multiple violent crimes.
“Zama zamas are often heavily armed, have explosives and, when trespassing on operating mines, set ambushes and booby traps for employees, security personnel and rival groups of illegal miners,” the council said on its website.
The council has called for more effective deterrents, such as heftier sentences for those convicted. “No single stakeholder can address the challenge of illegal mining alone so collaboration is key. The industry, individually and through the Minerals Council, remains committed to working with stakeholders in addressing this serious challenge.
“Equally, the need for dedicated legislation to define and punish illegal mining and the associated crimes is critical. At the moment, illegal miners can expect to escape with a slap on the wrist after being convicted of the minor crime of trespassing. Far tougher laws, effective policing and improved crime intelligence is needed to address illegal mining and the associated criminality, and to make arrests all the way up to the leaders and masterminds of these syndicates.”
However, human rights groups highlight the plight of many destitute people who work underground as a last resort. Lawyers for Human Rights has cited government failure to regulate mining, particularly mine closures, as a key driver of illegal mining activities.
“The government’s failure to effectively monitor, regulate and hold mining corporations accountable has allowed exploitive practices to persist at the expense of human lives,” the organisation said. “Furthermore, a failure to regulate artisanal and small-scale mining through legislation has been a significant contributing factor to this disaster.”
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