EXCLUSIVE: 260 miners stuck underground at Sibanye's Kloof mine as rescue efforts continue

Two hundred and sixty  miners are stuck underground at Shaft 7 of Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof mine near Westonaria after the door of the conveyance used to haul the ore to the surface opened, resulting in spilled debris damaging the shaft. No injuries were reported. 

The incident, which occurred on Thursday, underscores the hazards of deep-level gold mining. But Sibanye expects it to be resolved by noon on Friday, and Daily Maverick has also been told that search and rescue teams in Gauteng have been placed on alert. 

Daily Maverick was alerted to the incident by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and has confirmed it with Sibanye and the chief inspector of mines at the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources. 

“We can confirm that we had an incident at Kloof 7 shaft and are busy with making safety and shaft exam procedures, whereafter we will then hoist the employees out to surface. Employees are safe and accounted for,” Sibanye said in response to Daily Maverick’s queries.

“We don’t want to let the employees walk far distances at this time and hence it’s best for them to stay where they are at the station until it is safe to proceed to the surface. We are in the process of also providing them with food. We expect the situation to be resolved by about midday today.”

David Msiza, the Chief Inspector of Mines, told Daily Maverick that Sibanye wanted to “make the shaft safe before they can take the people out. You can’t take a chance. They have asked them to stay in the underground stations.” 

Shaft 7 is a classic ultra-deep Witwatersrand gold operation. It is more than 3km deep, dramatically raising the stakes in the operation to get the miners out.  

The incident will be seen as a setback to Sibanye’s and the wider South African mining sector’s vastly improved safety record in recent decades.  

NUM expressed anger at Sibanye’s delay in alerting the public to the incident. 

“We are angry that Sibanye has tried to hide the fact that 300 workers are trapped underground without food,” NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu told Daily Maverick. DM

Additional reporting by Yeshiel Panchia.