An application by miners affiliated with Amcu to gain access to Harmony Gold's Kusasalethu mine hostel began in the High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Judge Ndawoyakhe Tshabalala said if the 50 miners were allowed into the hostel the remaining 4000 miners employed at the mine might also want access, which could lead to chaos.
Ivan Miltz, for the miners, said it was unlikely there would be any trouble.
Miltz argued that the 50 miners were not told about the temporary closure of the mine before they went on leave.
“There will be no chaos or a mass return of the others... but the 50 have been sleeping on the ground outside the gate, in tents and at the church,” he told the court.
On January 3, miners were told the mine had been shut down until further notice, in order to review operations after several illegal strikes.
Miners were locked out of the hostel and many slept outside the gates.
In December, 1700 workers at the Kusasalethu mine had a sit-in demanding that their fellow employees, who had been suspended, be reinstated.
Tshabalala asked why the miners were still at the hostel even though the mine was temporarily closed.
Miltz said this was where some of them lived. One miner had been there since 1980, and their belongings, like pots, blankets and toiletries, were still there.
The court heard that most of the 50 were members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). - Sapa