The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
“Major multinational corporations like Sibanye-Stillwater, which should be industry leaders in creating a safety culture, are doing far too little to prevent accidents,” it said.
A parliamentary committee on mining, called for “drastic actions to such acts of carelessness, including exploring possibilities of laying criminal charges against the management.”
It condemned as “utterly unacceptable” the lack of a working back-up plan to bring the workers to the surface.
“We will investigate the issues of negligence and generator (failure),” said mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane.
But Sibanye-Stillwater spokesman Wellsted told AFP that “this was a very unusual event. The generators were affected by the storm.”
– Depleting reserves –
Last August five mineworkers died after sections of a gold mine collapsed outside Johannesburg.
In 2016 three workers stationed on the surface of a coal mine were buried when ground caved in. They were never found.
The country possesses rich mineral reserves and has some of the world’s deepest gold mines.
Gold was for many decades the backbone of South Africa’s economy, but production has declined sharply due to depletion of reserves.
Sibanye-Stillwater was created five years ago and is now South Africa’s largest gold producer, after embarking on a string of acquisitions.
In May 2017 it bought America’s Stillwater mining company to become Sibanye-Stillwater.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange and NYSE-listed firm is also involved in platinum mining, and in December 2017 announced plans to buyout Lonmin, the world’s third largest producer.
