Minister Gwede Mantashe calls for security beef up to address illegal mining. He said this during his visit to the Gloria Coal Mine in Koornfontein, outside Middelburg in Mpumalanga, on Friday.
Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has called for security to be beefed up at mines in order to address illegal mining.
Mantashe said the department is going to lose the battle against illegal miners and cable thieves if security remains at the level it is. “It’s not about removing thieves from underground. It’s about stopping them from entering.
“It’s quite important for us to be serious about the issue of illegal mining and cable theft in the industry, otherwise the industry will go to the dogs.”
Mantashe said they needed a collective effort to get the remaining bodies out. He said the priority remains to restore ventilation to the mine and reduce flammable gases underground so that the search and recovery process could continue speedily.
Twenty-two illegal miners were believed to be trapped since last Sunday after a gas explosion. The rescue team managed to recover six bodies and seven were discovered in the early hours of Thursday morning.
This pushed the death toll to 12.
Source: Daily Sun
