South African President Ramaphosa Mourns Deaths of Driefontein Miners

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a statement on Saturday, expressing his sadness at the deaths of seven workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Driefontein mine.

The president said that the government’s thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives. Ramaphosa also wished the six injured miners a quick recovery.

“As government and South Africans at large, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased workers, among whom are workers from neighbouring states, including Mozambique,” the statement reads.

“We also offer our best wishes to workers who have been directly or indirectly affected by this disaster, which should move the mining industry and government to jointly find ways to do all we can to protect our nation’s most valuable resource, the workers who are at the heart of our economy,”

Ramaphosa also emphasised the need to prioritise the safety of workers.

“We should spare no cost and no collaboration to ensure that workers are safe and their families are adequately cared for and compensated when disaster and tragedy strikes.”

He also said he hopes that the investigation into the Driefontein disaster will identify the causes of the incident, which was reportedly triggered by a seismic event (an earthquake measuring 2.1 on the Richter scale), and lead to solutions that will address the unacceptable rate of deaths in South African mines.

All 13 miners that were reported to be affected by the accident, have been accounted for.

Sibanye-Stillwater spokesperson James Wellsted said that the mine is in the process of undertaking an investigation in partnership with the Department of Mineral Resources.