RUSTENBURG – The family of a trapped Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) miner will on Wednesday go underground to see where he went missing, the company said.
“We have obtained a clearance from rescue teams to take representatives of the family underground to see and understand the [rescue] process,” said company spokesperson Johan Theron.
Rock drill operator, Ohemile Moses Maamogwa, 55, went missing underground following rock fall at Implats’ 1 Shaft in Meriting near Rustenburg on May 17. He has not yet been located.
Maamogwa was trapped underground with fellow rock drill operator Tanki Samuel Lepitikoe, 40. Seven others mineworkers escaped the rock fall unharmed while Lepitikoe’s body was later found and he was buried in Maseru, Lesotho.
Theron said Maamogwa’s family had been staying at the mine for the past two weeks and had been receiving counselling.
Mining operations at Implats’ 1 Shaft remain suspended as the search for Maamogwa continues.
“We are searching in a wide area where the rock fall occurred, unfortunately Moses has not been located,” Theron said.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said the family was going to perform a ritual underground.
“The family of our trapped comrade at #Implats Shaft 1 have just arrived at the mine & will be taken underground to perform a ritual. #AMCU,” the union tweeted on Wednesday.