Mining companies urged to 'beef up security' after Tau Lekoa tragedy

FILE PHOTO: Mosebenzi Zwane, South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources, speaks at a media briefing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town

FILE PHOTO: Mosebenzi Zwane, South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources, speaks at a media briefing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town

Published Jul 24, 2017

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Rustenburg - Health and safety is critical to the sustainability of the mining industry, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Monday following the death of four mineworkers at Tau Lekoa Gold Mine in Orkney near Klerksdorp, North West.

"Four deaths cannot be accepted. We want to call upon all the mining companies to beef up security because our workers, our people add value to this government and I am sure they must add value also to their place of work," he said.

"We are still very firm in terms of ensuring that every worker goes to work in the morning and comes back and see their families. We have talked with our team to investigate this matter further and we are happy that the management works together with us so that we take this matter forward and close it."

North West premier Supra Mahumapelo said the provincial government would support all role players affected by the incident.

"As government we came here to say to the mine, employees, the families and to the national department mineral resources that we will support them and work with everybody to make sure that the affected families are able to overcome this period of sadness," he said. 

"It is our hope that the owners of the mine will learn lessons from this occurrence and will do everything possible to improve the technology that can help us to proactively deal in future with incident of this nature."

Four workers were trapped underground during a seismic incident on Saturday.

The deceased are: Molefe Sebori from Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, Steven Maponya from Kanana, near Klerksdorp in North West Province, Tamati Looko from Kuruman in the Northern Cape and Tumelo Seshoeshoe from Leribe in Lesotho.

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