Beatrix mine workers wait on Eskom
Sibanye-Stillwater was waiting anxiously on Thursday night for Eskom to repair an electricity pylon so that it could haul 950 workers to safety from 1km underground after a storm damaged power supply and stranded the workers at its Beatrix mine in the Free State.
The storm knocked over a pylon that was supplying electricity to the Beatrix mine on Wednesday night, leaving nearly 1,300 night-shift workers stranded.
Sibanye was able to bring 272 miners to the surface from its 4 Shaft and 64 more at its 1 Shaft on Thursday, said spokesman James Wellsted.
But a computer glitch brought on by the lack of power to the main 3 Shaft meant the main winder could not be used and a generator was brought in and connected to a smaller winder.
By 6pm on Thursday, Sibanye was expecting the power line to be repaired by Eskom within an hour.
The generator was expected to be ready for hoisting in a similar time frame.
Using the main winder, it would take an hour to bring the 950 miners to the surface, while the smaller winder would take three times as long, Wellsted said.
There was an option for the miners to walk to 1 Shaft, but that would take four hours and presented its own safety and logistical challenges.
Sibanye asked the miners to stay put at 3 Shaft until they could be hauled to the surface.
Wellsted said that there were no injuries among the workers, who went underground at 8pm on Wednesday and were trapped underground for at least 12 hours.
Food had been sent down to the workers, while water and ventilation were also provided.
If the workers remained underground much longer, Sibanye would send medication for those listed as needing medicine, he said.
“The department’s inspectors are on site, providing support and advice on the rescue operation following a power outage, which resulted in mine workers being trapped underground,” the Department of Mineral Resources said.
Harmony said it had provided three 2.5MW generators from the nearby Joel mine to assist with the rescue efforts at Beatrix, while members of its expert mine-rescue teams were assisting.
Beatrix’s rescue crews were with the trapped miners.
On the whole, gold mining companies have been successful in bringing trapped workers to safety in situations similar to this. Harmony Gold brought 3,200 workers to the surface at
its Elandsrand gold mine in 2007, after a shaft was damaged and power supply to a main working area was halted.
In 2015, Harmony brought 486 miners to the surface safely after an underground fire at its Kusasalethu mine.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said on Thursday that it was concerned about the wellbeing of the trapped miners, citing a lack of medication for those who needed it.
“This incident also raises serious concern regarding the lacking emergency contingency plans at the mine for alternative and back-up power generation.
“Surely, this cannot be acceptable and best practice. Amcu insists that the mine should have its own back-up arrangements for this kind of contingency,” it said.
“Mining is very unsafe, and mine workers risk life and limb daily to put bread on the table for their families.
“Amcu calls on Sibanye-Stillwater management to step up its rescue efforts so that these workers can be brought back to the surface as soon as possible,” the trade union said.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) also expressed concern for the trapped workers’ health on Thursday, and called for tough measures against Sibanye and other mining companies where miners have been injured or killed.
“We call on the [Department of Mineral Resources] inspectorate to hold the mining industry fully accountable for its failures and adopt a no-nonsense approach when it comes to injuries and fatalities in the mining industry,” NUM said.