All 3,200 South African miners pulled to safety

Owner vows to improve safety
The mine owner, Harmony Gold Mining Co., and South Africa’s minerals and energy minister vowed to improve safety in one of the country’s most important industries after the accident prompted allegations the industry cut safety corners and didn’t properly maintain the mine.

The union threatened to strike if its safety demands were not met. In a message to mining bosses, it said it would “hit their pockets big time in the near future.”

“When it comes to production targets, the companies make no mistakes in meeting them, but when it comes to safety, we hear rhetoric and philosophy,” Bailey said.

Amelia Soares, spokeswoman for Harmony, said the mine had won a number of safety awards and had never seen any fatal accidents. She said the company was likely to suffer considerable losses in output during the closure, but was unable to give a precise estimate, saying that attention for now was concentrated on the rescue operation.

“We have to recommit ourselves to refocus on safety in this country; our safety record both as a company and an industry leave much to be desired,” Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe said, according to the South African Press Association.

Third-largest gold mine
Harmony’s Elandsrand mine is the third-largest producing gold mine in South Africa. The company said it produces an average of about 1,300 pounds of gold every month.

Motsepe is one of South Africa’s top business leaders, among a growing number of black entrepreneurs to have gained prominence since apartheid ended in 1994. Workers groups argue, though, that the opportunities created since the end of white rule are benefiting a small black elite, leaving the majority of blacks — most of the workers toiling in the mines — struggling.

The government’s push for greater roles for blacks in the economy has included requiring companies here to have significant black ownership and management to qualify for new mining rights.

Government officials also criticized Harmony for not immediately informing them about the crisis. Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said she learned about the early morning accident from the late evening news. She said President Thabo Mbeki also found out from the news bulletin.

Sonjica said during a visit to the Elandsrand mine at Carletonville — a town in South Africa’s mining heartland near Johannesburg — that health and safety legislation would be “tightened up.”

Last year, 199 mineworkers died in accidents, mostly rock falls, the South African government reported in September. One worker was killed last week in a mine adjacent to Elandsrand.

msnbc.com

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