Johannesburg - SA’s largest labour federation and the National Union of Mineworkers will march on the Department of Mineral Resources over the situation at Lily Mine.
Lily mine was placed in business rescue after a cage collapsed in February. Three employees remain trapped in the underground container, with Vantage planning to sink a 500m decline shaft to reach them.
Its owner, Australia’s Vantage Goldfields, had agreed with Canadian producer AfroCan Resources Gold that AfroCan would invest $11 million in Vantage, which would have seen miners being paid their salaries. However, AfroCan has reneged on this deal, and now Vantage plans to sue it.
Meanwhile, the families of those still trapped underground have no closure.
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Because of this, Cosatu and NUM are planning a protest march to the offices of the Department of Mineral Resources next week, to demand more government action to resolve the Lily Mine tragedy.
In a statement issued on Friday, Cosatu says it is “disappointed by the government’s lack of action and commitment to bringing to the surface the bodies of trapped miners and also compensate the stranded workers, who are currently sitting at home with no income”.
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The joint statement claims workers were given false promises by the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, who promised the families of the trapped miners R200 000 and the injured workers about R50 000.
“We are angry that those workers have not yet received the money that was promised to them.”
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