Carletonville, South Africa – Singing and dancing despite exhaustion, the last of 3,200 miners trapped underground for more than a day emerged safely Thursday night, delivering a happy ending but raising questions about the safety of South Africa’s gold mines.
Government officials announced that the Elandsrand mine, one of the top producers in the world’s leading gold-mining nation, would stay shut for at least six weeks while experts studied what caused a pipe to break and crash down the main shaft Wednesday, knocking out the elevator.
The national miners union threatened unspecified “industrial action” against the mining business, accusing managers of earning fortunes while compromising on safety. It said that among other things, companies have let alternative escape routes flood rather than maintain them.
The final group of 45 workers brought out through an auxiliary shaft normally used to remove debris arrived at the surface shortly before 9 p.m., walking out caked in dust but otherwise healthy a day and a half after the accident.
Amelia Soares, spokeswoman for Harmony Gold Mining Co., said only one health problem was reported – a worker had to be treated for dehydration.
“We can only be grateful and satisfied that not one single life was lost,” Soares said. “Spirits are high, and we are all very pleased.”
Waiting their turn to get out, the miners gathered near a ventilation shaft, and the company lowered water and food to them. A smaller elevator cage had to be rigged to raise the miners out another shaft. The company had expected the rescue to take 10 hours in all, but it lasted nearly twice that long.
“We nearly died down there,” one rescued miner yelled as he walked past reporters Thursday. “I’d rather leave (the job) than die in the mine.”
One large group of tired-looking miners left the rescue shaft singing traditional songs and stamping their feet with joy. They were greeted by a crowd of ululating female miners.
While relatives joyfully greeted the miners, there were complaints that they had not been given enough information while they waited anxiously during the rescue operation.
“I am very traumatized, exhausted, not knowing what is going on,” said Sam Ramohanoe, whose wife, Flora, was one of the trapped miners. “It is very unfair to us, not knowing what is going on with our beloved ones.”
Anger was also evident over Harmony’s not informing the government or public that more than 3,000 workers had been trapped.
The National Union of Mineworkers was the first to alert the nation, and its report that the miners had been trapped didn’t come until 15 hours after the accident.
The union charged that the mining industry, one of South Africa’s most important revenue earners, has cut corners on safety standards and does not properly maintain mines. It warned companies that if safety isn’t addressed, it will “hit their pockets big time in the near future.”
The mine owner vowed to improve safety.
“We have to recommit ourselves to refocus on safety in this country,” the South African Press Association quoted Harmony Gold’s chairman, Patrice Motsepe, as saying. “Our safety record both as a company and an industry leave much to be desired.”
Buyelwa Sonjica, the government’s minister for minerals and energy, said the Elandsrand mine would not be allowed to reopen for at least six weeks while experts checked it. She also said health and safety legislation would be “tightened up.”
