Pretoria - As news broke on the presence of at least 31 bodies of suspected illegal miners, believed to be Basotho nationals, underground at the Virginia Mine in Free State, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe has accused Lesotho of interfering with South Africa’s economy.
Mantashe said officials of the Lesotho government have more information on the tragic incident, after survivors of the mining tragedy in Free State “ran to Lesotho to report” without informing any South African authorities.
Mantashe said on Thursday, Lesotho’s minister in charge of mineral resources was deployed to Welkom, Free State. He said the Lesotho minister “made a very strange suggestion”, that surviving illegal miners should be deployed to go underground and retrieve bodies of the deceased illegal miners.
“I asked him a very straightforward question: should we send people into a methane-infested shaft knowingly? What happens if more die, would you take responsibility? This incident, more than any other incident, has confirmed our view that this thing of illegal mining is actually economic sabotage, it is war on our economy and, therefore, those who died there are almost like soldiers dying in combat,” Mantashe said in an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Friday.
“It is quite a serious matter and I don’t know why is the Lesotho government not seeing that this is quite dangerous, because they give us a lot of instructions, coming from the prime minister of Lesotho in trying to talk to the executives of Harmony (mining company) and everybody.
“I think it is a dangerous issue for neighbours to do that to one another. Lesotho must come partner with us in mining if they want to. They must come through the front door. We have done that with their water, we went there, met them, had a bilateral and we committed ourselves. The president has visited Lesotho and so on. They should do that,” said Mantashe.
He said Lesotho as a nation cannot be having “some strange relationship with illegal miners” operating in South Africa.
Earlier, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said it received a report that at least 31 suspected illegal miners who are believed to be Basotho nationals, have lost their lives in a ventilation Shaft 5 Virginia Mine, in Welkom, Free State province.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations of the Kingdom of Lesotho relayed this message to the High Commission of South Africa that, on May 18, 2023, a group of suspected illegal miners died in a mine ventilation shaft which was last operational in the 1990s,” said Makhosonke Buthelezi, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
“Although information on this tragic situation comes sporadically, we are doing our utmost best to act on the information, including information regarding three bodies which have been reported to be retrieved and brought to the surface by other illegal miners.
“Working in collaboration with the previous owners of the mine, Harmony, the DMRE inspectors have assessed the situation and determined that methane levels at the mine ventilation shaft 5 are very high. As such, it is currently too risky to dispatch a search team to the shaft,” said Buthelezi.
However, the South African authorities are considering various options to speedily deal with the situation.
“Although this is a unique and strange situation, all relevant stakeholders will endeavour to ensure that the suspected deceased illegal miners are brought to the surface,” said Buthelezi.
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