Hassan Isilow
09 February 2016•Update: 15 February 2016
By Hassan Isilow
JOHANNESBURG
South Africa’s Mineral Resources Department confirmed Monday it has ordered the Lily mine which collapsed Friday to close as rescue efforts to find three missing miners continue.
“We went to the mine on Friday and spent seven hours there. We closed the mine,” Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane told local TV in Cape Town where he was opening the Investing in African Mining conference 2016.
The minister said he had felt the pain of those who were uncertain regarding the fate of their loved ones trapped underground.
Last Friday, 76 miners were rescued after the Lily mine in Mpumalanga province in eastern South Africa collapsed.
Three people working on the surface in a container known as a lamp room have since gone missing after their container caved into the ground.
Mine managers, however, said Monday that a rescue team had established the three workers were still alive after hearing a tapping response from them.
The collapsed gold mine belongs to Vantage Goldfields, an Australia-based mining company. South Africa has one of the deepest and oldest mine shafts in the world.
Speaking at the Investing in African Mining conference, Minister Zwane urged mine owners to ensure the safety of their workers.
“We all have a joint responsibility to ensure the safety of our workers. The Department will continue to be hands-on in enforcing compliance to the Mine Health and Safety Act,” he said in a statement forwarded to Anadolu Agency.
Investing in African Mining Conference is the world's largest mining investment meeting that brings together over 6,000 mining industry experts, leaders and government representatives from 100 countries.
