Mine cage plunges 80 metres, 7 dead

SEVEN mine workers at Golden Valley Mine in Patchway died on Monday evening when the cage transporting them underground overran and plunged 80 metres to the bottom of the 400m deep flooded shaft.

Twelve other miners saved their skins by climbing onto the roof of the cage and were rescued 20 minutes later by their colleagues.

Mining Engineer in charge of Gweru Mining District which covers Kadoma, Eng Tapererwa Pasikwavaviri, said the tragedy occurred at about 6PM at the mine which is situated about 20km outside Kadoma along the Kadoma-Chakari road .

He told Chronicle, "There were 19 workers who were about to start their 6PM to 2AM shift. They were being taken underground using a skip or cage. While on the way, the cage developed a fault and overran. It proceeded to the bottom of the pioneer shaft where it splashed into the water and submerged. Seven of the workers drowned while 12 others managed to climb on the roof of the skip. They were rescued by other workers after 20 minutes."

Eng Pasikwavaviri said the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development had since suspended operations to allow investigations to take place.

"We want to establish the exact cause of the accident. The Ministry has suspended operations at Golden Valley Mine to allow investigations to proceed. It is too early to say what exactly caused the mishap. We cannot tell whether it's machinery or human error. Our team is working on establishing the true facts. We will update you once we are done with the investigations," he said.