The families of workers whose shipping container fell down a sinkhole during the Lily Mine collapse in Barberton, Mpumalanga are optimistic about finding closure after a lengthy legal process that frustrated efforts to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.
The Mbombela High Court first ordered the Australian company Vantage Goldfields, which operated the mine when the tragedy occurred in 2016, to step back and allow independent creditor Arqomanzi and Barbrook to buy Lily Mine.
Vantage Goldfields approached the Supreme Court of Appeal intending to overturn the Mbombela High Court judgment, but its application was dismissed.
This week, the Constitutional Court put the matter to rest when it dismissed with costs the company’s last-ditch attempt to appeal the Supreme Court’s dismissal of its application.
Arqomanzi’s intention is to reopen the mine and embark on the arduous mission to retrieve the missing container that has since left the families of Solomon Nyirenda, Yvonne Mnisi, and Pretty Nkambule without closure.
“We are excited about the Constitutional Court ruling because this is a very big step towards achieving the goal of retrieving the container that went missing with the three Lily Mine workers,” said Harry Mazibuko, spokesperson for the Lily Mine families and the community in general.
“It has been a long journey towards this point, but more still needs to be done.”
Possibility of prosecuting
According to Mazibuko, who is a former worker at the mine, the Department of Mineral Resources had agreed that the container was retrievable, but the process was being held back by the court action.
He said the families were also waiting to see if those who should be held accountable for the mine disaster would face prosecution.
“We will soon be receiving a magistrate’s judgment that will determine whether our missing people are declared deceased or not,” he said.
“The court was approached after the National Prosecuting Authority announced that it could not prosecute anyone until there were death certificates.
“If the awaited judgment favors families, then Home Affairs will have the authority to issue those certificates and allow prosecutions to take place.
“We are relieved as families because it has been seven years now. Next February will mark eight years of demanding the same thing.”
Victory for community
ActionSA leader in Mpumalanga, Thoko Mashiane, said the judgment is a victory for the community of Lily Mine, which has been living in poverty due to the closure of the mine.
“This will ultimately result in the recommencement of operations at the Lily Mine in Barberton, which means that the families of the miners stuck in the mine are one step closer to retrieving their bodies,” Mashiane said.
Nyirenda, Mnisi, and Nkambule were part of a group of 90 miners who were trapped at the mine in Louisville near Barberton on February 5 2016.
Eighty-seven workers were successfully rescued, but the three who worked in the lamp room remained stuck 80 metres below the surface.
