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Gwede Mantashe, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, is scheduled to visit the Virginia mine near Welkom, where 31 suspected illegal miners are believed to have died.
Last week, illegal miners thought to be Lesotho nationals died in a ventilation shaft at Virginia mine in the Free State.
The shaft was last used in the 1990s.
Former mine owners Harmony Gold Mining Company and the department investigated the disaster and discovered that methane levels were extremely high.
“As such, it is currently too risky to dispatch a search team to the shaft. However, we are considering various options to deal with the situation speedily,” said the department.
In a tweet, Mantashe stated that the visit will be to coordinate the extraction of the miners’ bodies.
“We will tomorrow visit Shaft 5, Virginia mine, in Welkom where at least 31 illegal miners who are believed to be Basotho nationals are suspected to have lost their lives. We will be joined by the Department of Minerals and Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) safety inspectors who are exploring various options to retrieve the bodies.”
We will tomorrow visit Shaft 5, Virginia Mine, in Welkom where at least 31 illegal miners who are believed to be Basotho nationals are suspected to have lost their lives. We will be joined by @DMRE_ZA‘s safety inspectors who are exploring various options to retrieve the bodies pic.twitter.com/msrlHfXnko
— Gwede Mantashe (@GwedeMantashe1) June 25, 2023