September 06, 2008

Task team meet to develop immediate mine reopening measures

It is reported that a newly established joint government and industry task team met on Sunday to develop immediate measures to enable closed South African mines to reopen.

South Africa's Department of Minerals and Energy said in a statement that in line with the National Emergency Response Plan to South Africa's power crisis, the Minerals and Energy Minister Mr Buyelwa Sonjica and Public Enterprises Minister Mr Alec Erwin on Saturday convened a high level meeting in Pretoria with the mining industry, Eskom and organized labor.

The meeting discussed Friday's cessation of electricity supply to mines and the development of immediate measures to enable closed mines to reopen. Stakeholders committed themselves to addressing the ongoing challenges in a positive and constructive manner.

As part of the plan, both Ministers would also be engaging other big electricity consumers on Tuesday January 29th 2008 in order to obtain a similar commitment on the reduction of energy consumption.

The Ministers also agreed to an industry request that there be sufficient power supply to enable employees to continue with essential underground operations, particularly in deep level gold mines, at a level that would ensure the safety of the workplace for mineworkers.