NUM upset by miners' death
THE DEATH of two mineworkers at Modikwa Platinum Mine in Mpumalanga on Saturday brought to more than 10 the number of underground fatalities since the beginning of the year.
WRONG: Lesiba Seshoka of NUM. PHOTO: Robert TshabalalaThe National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) reacted with anger at the news that the miners had died while on night duty on Saturday.
NUM spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said in a statement that there had been four mine deaths at Harmony Gold alone, one at Goldfields' Driefontein mine, one at Savuka mine outside Carletonville and one at Petra Diamonds in Kimberley.
He said the incidents jundermined the union's campaign to eliminate deaths in the mines.
"There were 120 deaths last year and there are already more than 10 this year," Seshoka said.
He said the deaths were caused by the mining houses' reluctance to adhere to mine safety regulations.
"NUM remains of the view that the state must undertake a technical audit into the mining industry to, among other things, do an audit of the aging and ailing infrastructure that continues to kill hundreds of miners, leaving thousands of children as orphans. The deaths are wrong," Seshoka said.