ILLEGAL mining at abandoned and closed mines was "spiralling out of control", with increasing numbers of injuries and deaths seen at mines across all commodities produced in SA, said Christo de Klerk, CEO of Mines Rescue Services (MRS). MRS is a nonprofit organisation that is funded by eight of SA’s largest mining companies represented on its board and proportionally contributing R42m a year to operating costs, and has 906 volunteers in four centres in major mining areas, as well as on large mines, to respond to underground incidents, rescuing trapped and injured miners as well as recovering bodies. While the numbers of incidents MRS is responding to on formal mines is variable, there have been a sharply increased number of call-outs by the Department of Mineral Resources, with which MRS has a contract to assist with incidents on abandoned and shut mines. "It’s spiralling out of control. It’s getting worse and worse and something must be done," said De Klerk. He suggested a five-poi...
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