Zama Zama Who Survived Abandoned Harmony Gold Mine Blast Refutes Deadly Explosion Was Caused by Methane Gas

Zama Zama Who Survived Abandoned Harmony Gold Mine Blast Refutes Deadly Explosion Was Caused by Methane Gas

  • A zama zama who survived the Welkom decommissioned mine explosions made damning accusations
  • The Lesotho national claims that the mine owner Harmoney Gold caused the explosion with explosives
  • Harmoney Gold has wholeheartedly denied the allegations claiming the company would never do something so unethical

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WELKOM - An illegal miner who survived the abandoned mine shaft that killed at least 31 illegal miners in Welkom has made damning allegations against the mine's owners.

An illegal miner who survived that Welkom abandoned mine blast has accused Harmony Gold of causing the deadly explosion
An illegal miner who survived that Welkom abandoned mine blast has accused Harmony Gold of causing the deadly explosion. Image: Edrea du Toit & Henner Frankenfeld
Source: Getty Images

Harmony Gold and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy reported that the May explosion that killed the Lesotho nationals was caused by a build-up of methane gas in the shaft, SowetanLIVE reported.

Zama zama accuses abandoned mine owner of causing explosion

The surviving zama zama has a different story. The Lesotho national claims that Harmoney Gold orchestrated the explosion by having its security personnel throw explosives down the mine, EWN reported.

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Harmony Gold has dismissed the allegation claiming that the company would never act in such an unethical manner.

Harmony Gold spokesperson Moeketsi Manoeli said:

"It’s very irresponsible for people to make such allegations against us."

South Africans don't believe surviving zama zama's allegations

Below are some comments:

@Barbara94062061

"They are mining illegally and causing rock shifts. They must blame themselves!"

@ntombik3

"Nonsense!!!"

@MzgViii

"The nerve here is outrageous."

Christopher Reynolds

"Who are they going to blame?"

Mosotho Mo Prieska II added:

"Lol, this is absurd... The next thing he's going to blame witchcraft."

Lesotho pleads with SA govt to retrieve 31 illegal miners’ bodies trapped in Welkom mine after an explosion

Briefly News previously reported SA's Mineral Resources and Energy Department made the bombshell revelation that 31 illegal miners believed to be Lesotho citizens were killed in an explosion at an abandoned mine in the Free State.

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Now the spokesperson to the Lesotho Prime Minister, Thapelo Mabote, is pleading with the South African government to help retrieve the bodies that have been trapped since the explosion.

Speaking on Newzroom Afrika, Mabote said that while the Lesotho government does not condone illegal mining, they would like to repatriate the bodies of the deceased and return them to their families.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Lerato Mutsila avatar

Lerato Mutsila (Current affairs editor) Lerato Mutsila is a journalist with 3 years of experience. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Pearson Institute of Higher Education in 2020, majoring in broadcast journalism, political science and communication. Lerato joined the Briefly News current affairs desk in August 2022. Mutsila is also a fellow of the 2021/2022 Young African Journalists Acceleration programme, which trained African journalists in climate journalism. You can contact Lerato at lerato.mutsila@breifly.co.za