Lily Mine workers not yet paid

Nomvula Chawane and Anchen Coetzee

The future of workers at Lily Mine looks bleak, with 900 of them still waiting to be paid their salaries for April.

The Vantage Goldfields-owned mine, near Barberton in Mpumalanga, has been in a financial crisis since a sinkhole swallowed a lamp room container with three workers inside exactly three months ago.

Gold production at the mine ceased, following the tragedy.

The three workers, Yvonne Mnisi, Solomon Nyarenda and Pretty Nkambule, have not yet been found due to delays in rescue operations.

Although the mine had applied for business rescue last month, its appointed business rescue practitioner was in a bid to secure funding to save the mine.

“The mine management and the business rescue practitioner are doing all in their power,” Lily Mine operations manager Mike Begg said.

“It is imperative we start the new access to the mine as soon as possible to ensure its future sustainability and secure the jobs of its employees.”

The workers were meant to be paid on April 25, but, following a meeting with management, they were told the date would be moved to April 29.

When the day came, the workers were given R650 in lieu of last month’s salaries “to get them through the weekend”, according to Begg.

The workers have since embarked on a peaceful protest outside the mine, demanding their salaries.

“We only depend on the income from the mine and have no other alternatives,” a worker at the mine said.

When approached by The Citizen, Vantage Goldfields spokesperson Coetzee Zietsman declined to comment.

“I have no mandate to speak on the situation at Lily Mine anymore,” he said.

The National Union of Mineworkers last week called on Lily Mine to pay its workers immediately. – Caxton News Service