
Photo Credit: SABC News WhatsApp Channel
By Zenzile Dlamini
Approximately 260 mineworkers were trapped underground at the Kloof 7 Sub-Shaft since Thursday due to equipment failure that caused debris to damage the main shaft, cutting off their exit route.
The incident at Sibanye’s Kloof 7 Sub-Shaft occurred in Westonaria, West of Johannesburg. Despite the safe return of the 260 mineworkers, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has criticised Sibanye’s handling of the incident.
NUM Spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu stated that cases similar to Kloof 7 Sub-Shaft are hardly reported to media houses.
“We are very concerned because they did not even make this incident public until we reported it to the media.”, said Mammburu.
NUM’s National Chairperson for Health and Safety, Duncan Luvuno, said theat they need to get full account of the incident with the management.
“Maybe just to give a background of what happened after almost 300 mineworkers at Kloof mine were saved. We agreed with the management that we are going to prioritise a meeting.”, he said.