By DPA
Carletonville (South Africa) : South Africa’s Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica Thursday ordered the temporary shutdown of a goldmine where a major rescue operation was underway to free hundreds of workers trapped underground for over a day.
The shutdown of three to six weeks would allow time for an investigation into the cause of Wednesday’s accident at Elandsrand mine near Carletonville in Gauteng province and for repairs to a damaged shaft, the minister told a press conference at the mine.
Hundreds of workers have been stranded over a mile underground at the mine owned by Harmony Gold, the world’s fifth largest gold producer, since about 10 am (0800 GMT) Wednesday morning after a falling pipe cut off power to the main shaft.
By 11:30 local time, around 1,750 workers had been hoisted to safety through a secondary shaft normally used for ventilation and waste.
“We are going to tighten our regulations on mining,” the minister said. “This incident has highlighted the problem of infrastructure. No replacement of facilities has been made (at the Elandsrand mine) for over 30 years,” she said.
The minister said she was only briefed by the company about the drama Wednesday night, over 12 hours after it began to unfold. If Harmony was found to have been negligent with regard to worker safety, the state would prosecute, she said.
Meanwhile, dozens of tired, dusty workers were emerging from the mine at intervals of about 30 to 45 mins. The Elandsrand mine is 3,566 metres deep.
As the secondary lift only holds 75 people at a time, the rescue operation, the largest in South African mining history, was set to continue into the evening.
The drama began when a 15-metre section of pipe column broke off the top of the shaft due to “fatigue” and plunged more than a mile to the bottom, damaging its power supply.
Mine accidents claimed 199 lives in 2006. By late July this year, the industry appeared set for similar fatalities with unconfirmed figures putting the number killed at 110.