Latest news with #NationalUnionofMineworkers
Dubai Eye
24-05-2025
- General
- Dubai Eye
South Africa rescues all 260 miners stuck underground alive
Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator said. The miners were trapped underground on Thursday at the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometres west of Johannesburg, after a hoist used to access the shaft was damaged in an accident, the mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said. The first phase of the rescue brought 79 people to the surface by 1:30 pm (1530 GST) while the rest were rescued six hours later, it said in a statement. "At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident," it said. A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it added. The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 am (1200 GST) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been "underground for almost 20 hours". Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, which is the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials. Dozens of mineworkers are killed each year, though the numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades. According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year.
ARN News Center
24-05-2025
- General
- ARN News Center
South Africa rescues all 260 miners stuck underground alive
Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator said. The miners were trapped underground on Thursday at the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometres west of Johannesburg, after a hoist used to access the shaft was damaged in an accident, the mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said. The first phase of the rescue brought 79 people to the surface by 1:30 pm (1530 GST) while the rest were rescued six hours later, it said in a statement. "At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident," it said. A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it added. The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 am (1200 GST) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been "underground for almost 20 hours". Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, which is the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials. Dozens of mineworkers are killed each year, though the numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades. According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year.
Al Etihad
24-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
South Africa rescues all 260 miners stuck underground alive
24 May 2025 13:29 WESTONARIA (AFP)Rescuers on Friday pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator miners were trapped underground on Thursday at the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, after a hoist used to access the shaft was damaged in an accident, the mining company Sibanye-Stillwater first phase of the rescue brought 79 people to the surface by 1:30 pm (1130 GMT) while the rest were rescued six hours later, it said in a statement."At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident," it said.A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it gold mine is one of the deepest operated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed relatives of the miners waited outside the site during the rescue efforts, most of them expressing shock at the incident, local television footage showed."All affected employees will also undergo thorough medical examinations, if required, while support has also been extended to employees' families," the mining company National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been "underground for almost 20 hours".Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, which is the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials. But accidents are of mineworkers are killed each year, though the numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades. According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year.
Express Tribune
24-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Miners rescued after shaft failure at Sibanye gold mine in South Africa
Listen to article Nearly a third of the 260 miners stuck underground following an accident at a Sibanye-Stillwater gold mine in South Africa were brought to the surface on Friday, the company said, as a senior union official confirmed there had been no injuries. The miners were stuck underground after the hoist system used to access a shaft at the Kloof gold mine - one of Sibanye's deepest, situated about 60 km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg - was damaged in an accident on Thursday. Sibanye said 79 of the employees had been brought to the surface by 1:30 p.m in the first phase of an operation to extract the miners. "The remaining 181 employees ... have been provided with food and will be hoisted to surface as soon as safety to hoist is confirmed," Sibanye said in a statement. A company spokesperson told Reuters late Friday afternoon that the process was expected to be completed "soon". "Fortunately there were no fatalities or injuries," National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Health and Safety Chairperson Duncan Luvuno told journalists at the site. "But for ... 24 hours people were not eating or drinking anything. This is not adequate. Some have chronic diseases." Journalists were kept away from the mine shaft by security personnel, but a Reuters reporter observed several miners—appearing weary yet in good health—walking to the edge of the company premises and boarding buses. Meanwhile, families of those still underground voiced deep concern and anxiety over the ongoing rescue. "I haven't had a moment of sleep," said Mamodise Mokone, whose husband is among those trapped. "All I want is for whoever is responsible to make sure my husband comes out alive." Sibanye earlier said all the workers were safe after what it called a "shaft incident" in the Kloof 7 shaft and were gathered at an assembly point as efforts were launched to bring them out of the mine. Johannesburg-based Sibanye is among only a few South African miners squeezing profits from some of the world's deepest and costliest gold mines. Sibanye is digging for gold at depths of about 3,200 meters (about 2 miles) at the Kloof 7 shaft. The Kloof mine, which accounts for 14% of Sibanye's total gold output, also operates two other shafts. The company mines platinum-group metals in South Africa and the United States as well. Mining accidents are not uncommon in South Africa, where many abandoned mines have been taken over by informal diggers. Earlier this year, at least 78 bodies were pulled from an illegal gold mine after police cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to crack down on illegal mining activity.
LeMonde
23-05-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
South Africa rescues all 260 miners stuck underground alive
Rescuers on Friday, May 23, pulled out all 260 mine workers who had been stuck for more than 24 hours in an underground shaft in South Africa, the mine's operator said. The miners were trapped underground on Thursday at the Kloof gold mine, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, after a hoist used to access the shaft was damaged in an accident, the mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said. The first phase of the rescue brought 79 people to the surface by 1:30 pm (1130 GMT) while the rest were rescued six hours later, it said in a statement. "At no point was there any risk of injury to employees during the incident," it said. A decision had been made against using the emergency escape routes which would have involved the miners walking longer distances, it added. The gold mine is one of the deepest operated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company. Desperate relatives of the miners waited outside the site during the rescue efforts, most of them expressing shock at the incident, local television footage showed. "All affected employees will also undergo thorough medical examinations, if required, while support has also been extended to employees' families," the mining company said. The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident happened around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday. It expressed concern for the miners who had been "underground for almost 20 hours." Sibanye-Stillwater had said earlier that the miners would be brought to the surface around midday Friday. "The employees are not trapped; it was decided to keep them at the sub-shaft station for now," spokesperson Henrika Ninham said. Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, which is the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials. But accidents are common. Dozens of mine workers are killed each year, though the numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades. According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year. Sibanye-Stillwater Chief Executive Neal Froneman said Friday they would not resume operations "until we are confident that all the necessary remedial actions have been implemented."
