(Rustenburg) Miners have trapped more than 400 of their colleagues underground at a gold mine in South Africa, and 250 others are protesting at a platinum mine, companies and unions announced Friday.
The blockage of miners underground is taking place at the Springs Gold Mine, east of Johannesburg, where more than 500 miners suffered the same fate for almost three days in October, amid rivalries between local unions.
The mining sector employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, very rich in deposits of gold, diamonds, coal and other minerals, and the world’s largest exporter of platinum.
This new mobilization was launched after the murder this week of a Gold Mine investigator who worked on the October blockade, declared Ziyaad Hassam, legal manager of the mine, denouncing a “hostage taking”.
Hooded rebel employees took the access badges of their colleagues on Thursday evening, “who therefore cannot return to the surface,” added Mr. Hassam, adding that two miners who managed to get out on Friday morning confirmed this information to management.
The latter suspects a link between the murder of the investigator and disciplinary measures decided after the October mobilization, which led to the dismissal of 50 employees.
Police were at the mine on Friday to monitor the situation, spokesman Dimakatso Nevhuhuwli said.
In another platinum mine, located in Rustenburg, east of the capital Pretoria, nearly 250 miners have been on strike underground for more than two days, said the spokesperson for the National Union of Mineworkers. (NUM), Livhuwani Mammburu.
They are demanding in particular an increase in salaries, payment of maternity leave and an end to the reduction of the workforce by the hundreds, he detailed, adding that if around twenty demonstrators suffering from chronic illnesses came to the surface on Thursday, the others are still underground.
The Ministry of Mines has expressed its concern over the recent increase in the number of underground demonstrations.
“This poses serious risks in terms of health and safety,” declared ministry spokesperson Makhosonke Buthelezi, saying he feared injuries or even deaths during these mobilizations.