A South African platinum mine via Wikimedia

All 955 South African Miners Have Been Rescued

But the question remains, how could something as commonplace as a power outage imperil the lives of almost 1000 people?</s>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - All the miners who were trapped underground for more than 24 hours after a storm knocked out powerlines supplying electricity to the Beatrix gold mine in South Africa have been rescued, operator Sibanye-Stillwater said on Friday.

In a painstaking rescue mission, the exhausted miners were hoisted up one by one after temporary power pylons were installed. None sustained major injuries.

Although the company had said the more than 1,000 mineworkers stuck underground were never in danger, the incident highlights safety concerns in an industry that is home to the world’s deepest mines, with workers at some sites operating at depths of up to 4 km.

“Everyone is fine, there were minor injuries and a bit of dehydration but that’s all,” company spokesman James Wellsted said.

Some workers were rescued on Thursday after emergency power supply from backup generators, but damage to the winder control systems and generators at one of the Beatrix shafts caused by a power surge forced 955 employees to remain underground.

They were hoisted to surface on Friday after temporary power line pylons were installed by Sibanye-Stillwater and Eskom, the country’s power utility.

The effort to get the mineworkers to the surface was slow, as they were coming up one at a time, union officials said.

“We can also confirm that all workers did not sustain any injuries ... they are just exhausted,” spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said.

“The NUM is extremely worried about health and safety measures in all mining companies in South Africa.”

The parliamentary committee on mineral resources asked the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to explain why its safety inspectors failed to detect that the Beatrix mine did not have a reliable backup power system.

Officials at the DMR were not available to comment.

By November, the 2017 death toll of 76 in South Africa’s mines had already surpassed the 2016 figure of 73, ending nine straight years of falling fatalities and raising red flags for the industry.

The trend reversal is likely to reignite investor concern over mine safety and could prompt regulators to step up shaft inspections, which often result in costly production stoppages.</s>Image copyright AFP / Getty Images Image caption A rescued miner gestures out a bus window

All 955 workers from a gold mine in South Africa have been safely brought back to the surface.

They had been trapped underground since a power cut struck on Wednesday night, and back-up generators failed to work.

"Everybody's out," said James Wellsted, a spokesman for the operating firm Sibanye-Stillwater.

He said there were "cases of dehydration and high blood pressure but nothing serious", and the mine would re-open on Monday.

The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in South Africa says there were scenes of jubilation as the miners were brought to the surface in the morning.

Through the night, members of the local community and other workers had kept vigil outside the mine shaft, praying for the miners' safe return.

South Africa is a leading gold producer, but safety in the industry is often questioned.

The Beatrix mine is in Welkom town, about 290km (180 miles) south-west of Johannesburg. It is owned by Sibanye-Stillwater mining firm.

It has 23 levels, going down to 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) below ground.

Image copyright AFP Image caption "My children couldn't sleep," says Nontuthu Zelo Ngcai, a relative of a miner. She says worried family members called her through the night.

The accident is thought to have occurred when a storm knocked over an electricity pylon close to the site, triggering a huge power cut.

But on Friday morning electricity was finally restored to a lift, enabling the workers' release.

"It was stressful, there was not enough ventilation," said mineworker Mike Khonto. "Thankfully our management managed to send us food and water."

They are being taken for food and showers upon their release, before having medical health checks.

Image copyright AFP/getty Image caption Power has now been restored at the site

Anxious family members had gathered along the road to the mine but were kept back by security forces.

Mr Wellsted said there was "no indication so far that anyone has been in distress" but it had been a "traumatic experience".

Trade union officials had previously said they feared that the lives of the miners were at risk.

They say this accident has highlighted the low safety standards in parts of the industry.

More than 80 fatalities were recorded in South African mines in 2017.</s>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Sibanye-Stillwater said on Thursday that over 1,000 miners were stuck underground at its Beatrix gold mine in South Africa after a storm knocked out power, but they were not in danger.

Spokesman James Wellsted said the miners were safe and receiving food and water. Power was being restored to the mine but there was not yet enough to bring the miners to the surface.</s>JOHANNESBURG, Feb 2 (Reuters) - All the miners trapped underground at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Beatrix gold mine in South Africa have been brought to the surface, local television station eNCA reported on Friday. Over 1,000 miners were stuck underground on Thursday after a storm knocked out power. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)</s>Power was restored to the Beatrix gold mine owned by Sibanye-Stillwater early on Friday morning, prompting the rescue of hundreds of miners trapped underground since Thursday morning.

The power came on at 2am on Friday morning and hoisting was started in order to rescue the miners, said company spokesman James Wellsted.

So far 948 people had been hoisted safely back to the surface and only seven remained underground and would be immediately returned to surface, he said.

“This is significant rescue effort and one that all who participated in can be extremely proud off, and it is a clear demonstration of the competence within the South African mining industry. The actions taken by management and decisions taken resulted in all our employees returning safely to their families,” said Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman after the last of the trapped miners were hoisted to the surface.

The storm knocked out the primary and secondary electricity supplies to the mine.

The Beatrix mine in the Free State was paralysed by a power outage after a storm on Wednesday night knocked over a pylon supplying electricity to the mine and trapping 1,300 people underground, company officials said. Power was restored to two shafts and 336 people were returned to surface.

South African mines have a good history in cases like these where masses of miners are trapped underground.</s>JOHANNESBURG – Sibanye-Stillwater said on Thursday that over 1 000 miners were stuck underground at its Beatrix gold mine in South Africa after a storm knocked out power, but they were not in danger.

Spokesperson James Wellsted said the miners were safe and receiving food and water. Power was being restored to the mine but there was not yet enough to bring the miners to the surface.

The National Union of Mineworkers said 65 mineworkers had been rescued but more than 1 000 remained underground.

“There is no electricity there, so they are using a generator to power the cage to take workers to the surface,” NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu told Reuters.

“The problem is they are rescuing one mineworker at a time. It is very slow. It is worrying. Some of our members have chronic conditions and they don’t have medication down there.”</s>JOHANNESBURG — Nearly 1,000 miners who were trapped in a South African mine for more than 24 hours after a power outage have been safely evacuated, company officials said on Friday.

The Sibanye-Stillwater company, which manages the Beatrix gold mine in Free State Province, said that the miners would be subjected to medical tests and counseling. The mine is expected to resume operations on Monday, the company said.

“Everyone is fine. There were minor injuries and a bit of dehydration, but that’s all,” said James Wellsted, a company spokesman. He said that 955 workers had been rescued, Reuters reported.

Unions for mine workers expressed concern that there was no functioning backup plan for evacuation after a storm knocked out power Wednesday night. They also said that the episode underscored long-running problems with safety and oversight at South Africa’s mines, where workers at some sites operate at depths of more than two miles below the surface.

Food and water were delivered to the trapped miners while they waited for power to be restored so that elevators could ferry them to the surface.</s>At least 900 miners who were trapped in a South African mine for more than 24 hours after a power outage have been rescued.

The Sibanye-Stillwater company, which manages the Beatrix gold mine in Free State province, said on Friday that the miners will have medical tests and counselling and that it expects the mine to start operating again on Monday.

Mine unions and others, however, are expressing concern that there was no functioning back-up plan for evacuation after a storm knocked out power on Wednesday night and say the incident reflects continuing safety problems in South Africa’s mines.

Company managers and unions say food and water was delivered to the trapped miners while they awaited the restoration of power, which enabled elevators to ferry them to the surface.</s>Hundreds of gold miners were stuck underground in South Africa on Thursday after a power cut, the mine’s owner said, though the workers were not reported to be in immediate danger.



The Sibanye-Stillwater mining company said a massive power outage caused by a storm had prevented lifts from bringing the night shift to the surface at the Beatrix gold mine, near the city of Welkom.

“We have got 955 employees still underground, they are in a confined and safe area, it’s the shaft waiting area (and) there is ventilation, we are supplying them with water and food,” James Wellsted, spokesman for Sibanye-Stillwater, told AFP.

“So everybody is fine at the moment. We are trying to restore power so we can start hoisting them to the surface,” he said, speaking on the phone from the mine.

He said the depth where the miners were trapped was uncertain, but the mine has 23 levels, going down to about 1,000m (3,280ft) below ground.

One cable was restored during the day and 272 workers were rescued, but 955 remained trapped by early evening, the company said.

They have been underground for 24 hours.

Wellsted said that engineers were struggling to get emergency generators to operate and re-start the lifts following the storm.

“We are having some issues – probably related to the power surge linked to the storm – in getting the winders working, so we are busy working on that issue at the moment,” he added.

“Last night there was a severe storm in the Free State (province) that affected two different power cables... and cut off all electricity supply to the mine, so we were unable to bring the night shift up.”

Back-up power generators failed to kick in due to a software issue “and we are trying to solve that problem,” said Wellsted.

The Beatrix mine is in Free State province, 290kms (180 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.

AMCU, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, said that the workers stuck underground were facing major health and safety risks.

“AMCU views this incident as extreme due to the sheer number of workers involved,” it said in a statement.

“The incident raises serious concern regarding the lacking emergency contingency plans at the mine for alternative and back-up power generation.”

It said workers’ lives could be in danger, especially if they were on medication.

Another mining union the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) complained about mine safety and called on mineworkers to refuse to work in “dangerous conditions”.

“Major multinational corporations like Sibanye-Stillwater which should be industry leaders in creating a safety culture are doing far too little to prevent accidents,” the union said in a statement.

Last August five mineworkers died after sections of a gold mine collapsed outside Johannesburg.

The country possesses rich mineral reserves and has some of the world’s deepest gold mines.

Gold was for many decades the backbone of South Africa’s economy, but production has declined sharply due to depletion of reserves.
All 955 South African miners, who were stuck in the Beatrix gold mine near Welkom in central Free State province since Wednesday, have been brought to the surface. Earlier, 65 other workers were rescued. No serious injuries have been reported. The accident apparently happened when a strong storm knocked over an electric power tower triggering the huge power cut.