Ten more illegal miners have emerged from underground at the Buffelsdoorn mine in Stilfontein, North West, bringing the total number of surfaced miners to nearly 1,300 since mid-August.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said on Friday that authorities would continue assisting illegal miners wanting to surface at Margaret Shaft and Shafts 10 and 11, despite risks including underground methane gas and armed individuals.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement session in Stilfontein, Mchunu warned of the dangers involved in the retrieval process. The meeting aimed to chart a way forward for recovering an unknown number of miners still underground since the start of Operation Vala Umgodi.
The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster will meet urgently with the Department of Mineral Resources to discuss new approaches for closing and rehabilitating mines with existing license holders.
Community leader Thembile Botman highlighted government’s failure to hold mining companies accountable. “Our government has a responsibility to hold accountable everyone that has mining rights in the closure because that person must apply for closure and there are rehabilitation funds banked there to rehabilitate this mine,” he said.
Dr Ingrid Watson from the Wits Mining Institute revealed troubling findings about mine closures. “From the research that I’ve done, I haven’t seen any closure certificate being issued for large mines at least since 2011,” she said. Watson noted that while the Buffelsfontein Mine’s ownership changed from Simmer and Jack to Village Main Reef in 2014, it remains listed as operational.
Mchunu committed to reconfiguring existing strategies, announcing that Minister Gwede Mantashe must present artisanal mining mechanisms and new approaches to mine closure at the next JCPS meeting. “They must present a new approach in terms of closing mines by companies that are license holders currently,” Mchunu stated.
The Department of Mineral Resources reports that almost 300 disused and abandoned mine shafts have been closed thus far, though concerns persist about the broader issue of mine closure certification and rehabilitation.
