Mine purchase accelerated to aid jobless miners

The take-over of the Hartbeesfontein and Buffelsfontein mines in Stilfontein will be accelerated to stop the hardship of retrenched miners. This follows a meeting between liquidators, trade unions and the new buyer - Simmer and Jack Mines.

Thousands of unhappy miners from two liquidated mines in Stilfontein and their families blocked the N12 near the town on last Wednesday to draw attention to their plight.  Trade union Solidarity called on government to declare a state of emergency in the Stilfontein area as thousands of miners and their families are going hungry. Solidarity says people are frustrated and want a speedy resolution to the problem. Solidarity spokesperson Dirk Hermann said: "We (are) getting no support from government and the pressure on the community to supply the mineworkers with food is becoming overwhelming."

They demanded that liquidators immediately allow the preferred bidder for DRD Gold's liquidated North West operations, Simmer & Jack Mines Ltd, to take over mining.  Police spokesperson Captain Alfje Bothma said the group of about 2 000 people blocked the road for about two hours.  They then marched to a meeting attended by unions, liquidators and mine bosses to await feedback.  Thousands of people from the mining town are on a feeding scheme since the mines stopped operations about three months ago. [Continues on Page 2.]

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