Rescue workers in search of the three miners still trapped underground in AngloGold Ashanti’s Tautona mine have been delayed by ”a difficult rock”, the company said on Thursday morning.
”There was slow progress during the course of the night because the rock that rescuers have to go through to reach the trapped miners is difficult [to dig past],” spokesperson Steve Lenahan said.
”Rescuers are, however, looking for different avenues to approach the area.”
This made it difficult to speculate when the remaining three miners would be found.
Bodies of two of the five miners trapped on Monday following two tremors of 1,9 and 2,3 magnitude were recovered on Wednesday afternoon.
Their families were informed of the incident, but names will only be released when all miners are found, said Lenahan.
Two miners who were rescued shortly after the incident remained in hospital.
One who suffered a back injury remained in a stable condition while the other is being treated for minor injuries, he said.
The company said the damage took place 2 700 metres below the surface.
Reacting to Monday’s rockburst, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said the number of miners killed underground in South Africa was ”totally unacceptable”.
”Gold mines, which have reached a [production] plateau, are the worst performers and have deteriorated by 18,5% from a fatality rate per million hours worked of 0,27 to 0,32.”
Sonjica said that in recent months coal and other mines had also shown no sign of improvement. This was despite goals set in 2003 to decrease mine-related injuries by 20% per annum.
In January, three miners died and four others were injured, two seriously, in a rockfall in the same mine. The fall was said to have been caused by a tremor of 2,4 magnitude about 3km below the surface.
The National Union of Mineworkers said on Tuesday that Tautona had an ”unrelenting scenario of fatalities”.
”So far, according to our records, 11 fatalities have occurred in 2006 excluding the current ‘accident’, and two weeks ago one accident was also reported,” the union’s Mike Fafuli said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said the union wanted answers from AngloGold Ashanti, after it transpired that the miners were supposed have been out of the shaft 30 minutes before the incident.
”Their shift was supposed to have ended at 2pm, but they were still down there at the time of the rockfall by 2.30pm,” Fafuli said.
Lenahan could not comment on the delay saying the mine first had to investigate the incident. – Sapa