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MODERN MINING
October 2016
SAFETY IN MINING
feature
T
he first real encounter the MRS had
with the illegal mining sector was
a decade ago, when the organisa-
tion was asked to recover the body
of an illegal miner in the Barberton
area by the DMR. Today such interventions
are a regular occurrence
for the MRS, which fre-
quently finds itself being
called out by the DMR to
assist with rescue and re-
covery operations occa-
sioned by illegal mining
activities.
A recent well pub-
licised incident was
a t L a n g l a a g t e n e a r
Johannesburg, which –
unfairly – resulted in
the MRS receiving criti-
cism in the media for
abandoning recovery
efforts too early. De Klerk
stressed that MRS teams – composed of volun-
teers – took incredible risks, frequently being
required to enter highly unsafe areas and often
having to squeeze through spaces so small that
they had to discard their own protective gear.
To buttress his case, he showed the media
photos – and even videos – of illegal mining
activity. A number of the photos were extremely
graphic and showed the bodies of illegal min-
ers, some of them killed as a result of hazardous
conditions and others ‘executed’ by rival gangs.
An extraordinary sequence taken with a spe-
cial remotely controlled camera used by MRS
showed illegal miners – also known as ‘zama
MRS increasingly called on
to assist at abandoned mines
Brigadesmen entering
abandoned workings. MRS
operations frequently take
place in mines which no
longer have support in
place and have experienced
significant degeneration of
infrastructure (photo: MRS).
Mines Rescue Services (MRS) South Africa, whose remit is
to provide rescue and recovery services for South Africa’s
formal mining industry, is increasingly finding itself being
drawn into the rescue of illegal miners – or, more often, the
recovery of their bodies – at abandoned mines. This was
the message from Christo de Klerk, CEO of MRS, at a recent
media briefing in Johannesburg. He told the journalists at-
tending the briefing that the problem of illegal mining was
“spiralling out of control” and was being accompanied by
increasing levels of violence.
zamas’ – descending a deep abandoned shaft
via the still intact shaft steelwork. There was
not a vestige of safety equipment in evidence,
not even of the most rudimentary type.
De Klerk said the MRS needed to retain the
trust of illegal miners. As he said, “We cannot
operate without their assistance.”
He also mentioned that efforts to seal aban-
doned mines had proven largely unsuccessful,
with the illegal miners simply reopening them
– even blasting through the concrete ‘caps’ used
to prevent access to abandoned shafts.
De Klerk stressed that the first priority of the
MRS was to provide assistance to the formal
mining industry. He added, however, that the
organisation had an agreement with the DMR
to render assistance at abandoned and other
mines approved by the DMR. He emphasised
that no assistance could be provided at such
mines without DMR approval.
Outlining the history of the MRS, De Klerk
said the organisation could trace its origins back
to 1924 when Rand Mines established a Central
Rescue Training Station in Johannesburg. This
was taken over by the Transvaal and OFS
Chamber of Mines in 1946. Today the MRS had
45 full-time employees, he said, with Rescue
Stations at Carletonville, Evander, Welkom and
Steelpoort.
He described the mission of the MRS as
being to provide rescue and recovery services,
resources and expertise for an effective emer-
gency service, primarily for the South African
mining industry. One of its main functions was
to train rescue team members (also known as
‘brigadesmen’) to the required skills compe-
tency and he noted that training had also been
provided in a number of African countries and
also to China, Iran and Russia.
He described the MRS as one of the best res-
cue organisations in the world and added that
it also had some of the best equipment in the
world. It was funded by the mining industry and
its annual budget was currently R42 million.
Also present at the media briefing was Mike
Teke, President of the Chamber of Mines.
Introducing the work of the MRS, he paid trib-
ute to the 906 current brigadesmen, and the
thousands who had preceded them. “They
deserve our admiration, respect and thanks,”
he said.