Mantashe to visit Virginia mine to retrieve bodies of illegal miners

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, is expected to visit Virginia mine in Welkom where 31 suspected illegal miners are believed to have died.

The illegal miners believed to be Lesotho nationals died in a ventilation shaft at Virginia mine in the Free State last week.

The shaft last was operational in the 1990s.

Tragedy

Previous mine owners Harmony Gold Mining Company and the department assessed the tragedy and determined that methane levels were very 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.

Bodies

Mantashe in a tweet said the visit will be to coordinate the retrieval 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.”

ALSO READ: 31 illegal miners die underground in Free State

Illegal mining

Last week, Lesotho Prime Minister’s spokesperson Thapelo Mabote said the country requested the South African government for help in retrieving the bodies of suspected illegal miners trapped in the Free State mine.

Mabote said it was a sad moment for the families of the dead miners.

“It’s a sad moment for the families of the dead people who unfortunately went illegally to SA and were doing something that destabilises the relationship between the two countries,” said Mabote.

“Lesotho doesn’t support illegal miners and illegal activities that are taking place in South Africa by Basotho. The government is trying to combat this by asking Basotho to adhere to all the regulations of the country. It’s so unfortunate that these miners went there and now they’re late,” he said.

Additional reporting by Vhahangwele Nemakonde

ALSO READ: Lesotho asks SA government to help retrieve bodies of suspected illegal miners