On the fifth anniversary of the Lily mine collapse, the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE) conveys its sadness in commemorating the loss of three miners.

On February 5, 2016, there was a cave-in at the mine, in Barberton, Mpumalanga. An above-ground lamproom container, in which three miners were working at the time of the cave-in, was pulled into a hole at the entrance to the decline shaft of the mine.

Efforts to recover the container have thus far been unsuccessful as a result of underground instability.

The DMRE completed an inquiry into the cause of the accident and a report was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions in August 2018.

As such, an administrative fine of R1-million was issued to mine owner Vantage Goldfields in September 2020 as per the recommendation of the inquiry report.

In addition, the DMRE notes its “great concern” at the prolonged business rescue process that has been undertaken since the mine shut following financial difficulties as a result of not being able to operate.

In this regard, the DMRE notes that there were several meetings held by it with the business rescue practitioner (BRP), prospective new owners, families and the current mine owners, which is still Vantage, to monitor progress of the business rescue process.

Further, the DMRE says it wrote a letter to the nonexecutive chairperson of Vantage Goldfields expressing the department's concerns about the prolonged business rescue process.

The DMRE reports that the chairperson subsequently responded to the effect that the company has decided to re-finance its subsidiary and that the initial focus will be on the retrieval of the three miners.

Vantage CEO Mike McChesney recently confirmed to Mining Weekly that the Lily mine was not for sale and that all previous attempts to sell the mine had failed because of nonperformance by the buyer or “self-serving interference”, including litigation by previous bidders in the business rescue process.

“Accordingly, Vantage has decided to retain ownership and fund the reopening of the mine.”

To achieve this, he said, Vantage had found a new investor – Macquarie Metals, which now owns 98% of Vantage in Australia. “This is an entirely independent company which does not include current management and will implement its own management structures in due course.”

As such, he noted that Vantage would implement the currently approved business rescue plans for both the Lily and Barbrook mines, with significant improvements, which were being discussed with the BRP.

“We will continually update the families on the business rescue process. Since Lily mine was closed, hundreds of employees have lost their jobs,” states the DMRE.

In addition, the department says many workers face dire financial problems, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and it would therefore be in the interests of the greater community for the mine to reopen “as soon as possible”.

McChesney says the current plan for Lily mine provides for the reopening of the Lily and Barbrook mines and, in the case of the Lily mine, a new decline shaft will be sunk to access the mine workings and recover the remains of the missing miners.

He points out that recovering the missing miners has been part of the business rescue plan since April 2016.

However, political organisation ActionSA alleges that its legal team has established that the BRP is in possession of two bids for the mine, which it says have been deemed acceptable to creditors. “Critically, from our perspective, both bids commit to the retrieval of the container, and to pay wages owed to the former miners within 60 days of the agreement.”

ActionSA also claims to be in talks with one of the bidders for the mine about a joint legal action to hold the BRP  in contempt of court, thereby compelling the BRP to finalise the process.