Mine puts ‘profits before lives’

THE DEATH of four miners has been blamed on a shift manager accused of putting profits before lives. It is alleged the employees were forced to work in an abandoned underground stope that killed their colleagues, choked by gas and poor ventilation. These allegations emerged yesterday following Monday’s incident at Sibanye Gold’s Kloof Ikamva shaft in Westonaria, west of Joburg. Four bodies have since been retrieved.

Amcu said Sibanye Gold operations have become killings fields. “The union questions why a manager allegedly forced employees to go underground even though the Mineral Resources Department reportedly issued an order to stop production,” said Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa.

Company spokesperson Thabile Phumo said the ban was only for a specific area in the shaft. The area where the bodies were found was not sealed off but there was a ventilation wall that prevented anyone from accessing it, she said.

– Lindile Sifile