THE Virginia Regional Court on Wednesday imposed a R500000 fine on the management of Rovic diamond mine after 20 people were killed in a mudslide in November 1996, SABC radio news reported on Thursday. On December 1, the manager of the mine near Dealesville in the Free pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter. Pieter Smith acknowledged that negligence contributed to the disaster, saying he had been negligent by not properly investigating a sagging in the floor of the mine. Reacting to news of the fine, the National Union of Mineworkers told the SABC money would not buy back the lives of the miners buried underground in the mudslide.