Authorities say it’s too dangerous to go down the Krugersdorp mine
Ten informal miners have been trapped in the old Krugersdope mine for five months since they were blocked by water. No one knows whether they are dead or alive.
Ten miners were trapped a few days after descending 50 metres into an old shaft next to the Amatoshe mine on November 22nd last year. An underground stream cut them off from the shaft. Three were able to escape, and four died in an attempt. The remaining 10 were trapped when the tunnel collapsed.
Nkosinathi Maisa managed to escape, told Groundup the day after they came down, fellow miner Calton Vundla decided to go out and seek food, discovering that the stream’s water was rising and it was difficult to cross.
Maisa said the group had waited for two days in hopes of the water retreating, but it continued to rise. He said he suspected that the water was intentionally pumped.
He said the miners tried to create an escape route by opening a tunnel, but “but it collapsed between the ten people in the front and the seven of us behind.”
“We couldn’t resume our paths. We’ve never seen or heard of them again from other groups,” Maisa said.
As the days went by, the food started to run out and the torch battery was low. On December 5th, he and another miner swam to get help, but they were unable to save the others without proper equipment. Maisa said the third miner could also make it later.
“I’m grateful to be able to see my wife and children again,” said Maisa, who worked at Blanket Mine in Bulawayo five years ago. He moved to South Africa after his contract ended.
Gezephi Vundla said he saw his son Calton Vundla, 24, turn 24 briefly when he visited him in Soweto the day he entered the mine. Vondra said that Calton had nothing to say about descending the mine, but a few days later she heard that her son was trapped underground.
“All I want is to get him out of that mine,” she said.
Vundla and other families of the 10 locked miners are seeking help from the police, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), Zimbabwean consulate and civic organizations. Human rights lawyers also tried to intervene on their behalf.
Their uncles, Calton’s uncle, said police and staff at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) had assessed the situation and declared the shaft unsafe for rescuers or scuba divers.
Without official help, the family got help from other informal miners who entered the shaft on a rescue mission in December. They found four bodies, but were unable to reach the location where the remaining 10 people were trapped.
“We have to get help to drive out the miners, whether they’re alive or not,” Dube said.
Human rights attorney Louise Duplesis said plans to take the matter to court have been suspended after DMRE and police announced the rescue mission was dangerous.
On December 20th, Duplesis wrote a letter to the owner of the Amatoche mine. This has led to the expansion of operations outside the shaft where informal miners are trapped, seeking help.
“The mine has a variety of obligations in both the health and safety laws of the mine, ensuring the safety and happiness of the people in the mine. Four people have already died as water is being fed into the shaft.
Du Plessis said there was no response from the mine.
Eddie Milne, CEO of Amatshe Mining, told Groundup he had never been involved with any family or authorities related to illegal miners.
It won’t help finding it
Krugersdorp police spokesman Happy Xaba said in December 2024 that he discovered three decomposition bodies wrapped in white plastic bags at the corner of Paardekraal and Windsor Roads.
“There was a paper written next to each body with a mobile phone number. It appears that the deceased was drowned in the water,” Xaba said. “A little while later there was an allegation that there were more bodies trapped below. We weren’t ready to come forward to confirm the claim.”
Maisa said four bodies had been recovered from the mine and thought a fourth body had been taken by the family before police arrived.
Xaba said the district police chief had held a meeting between the Human Rights Commission and Methodist Minister Paul Velin. The station commander also attended meetings, including the Zimbabwean consulate.
“We were explaining the same thing, especially if it’s not safe, police can’t lead underground recovery operations,” Xaba said. He said the final meeting took place on March 12th at Braamfontein’s DMRE office. “When DMRE explained it was impossible to operate, all the stakeholders were there.”
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Verryn confirmed that he attended a meeting with his family, police and DMRE, and concluded that he could not do anything. He said that human rights lawyers also did their best to intervene in the matter. He said he asked the Human Rights Commission to investigate.
Milne said trapped miners “have accessed illegally historic underground mechanisms.”
He said that Amatoche “will not be involved in any form” because “the operation was an illegal method inherent in shafts and historical holes previously closed by DMRE.”
Pushing the allegations that Amatshe had sent water into the shaft where the informal miners work, he said: “Please note that I have not made any more comments… it appears that I don’t understand the fact that illegal mining remains illegal mining.”
He added:
DMRE had not answered Groundup questions by the time of publication.
