FYI Oct 04 2007 06:36 AM Carletonville - Thousands of miners were being painstakingly brought to the surface on Thursday after spending hours trapped more than two kilometers underground at a gold mine in South Africa.No injuries were reported after the accident at Elandsrand mine, southwest of Johannesburg, on Wednesday when some 3 200 miners first became stuck underground after a lift cable apparently snapped at 10:00.But unions warned the incident should serve as a wake-up call to the industry, saying it had highlighted the shortcomings in safety.The exhausted but relieved miners meanwhile recounted how they had kept up their spirits by singing in the mine shaft.Around 450 miners had been ferried to the surface by around 05:00 on Thursday on a makeshift lift, packed 75 at a time into three cages, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.The first miners were brought to the surface at around 02:00 and were found to be in "good condition", according to Harmony Gold spokesperson Amelia Soares.She said the rescue operation, which began shortly after midnight, was likely to take around 10 hours.No escape route"They are all in good condition," Soares added.As they emerged onto solid ground, the miners were handed sandwiches, greeted by relatives, and then whisked away for medical examinations but they appeared in good spirits."When the light went off, we didn't know what happened. At the beginning we were not so scared but as time went we didn't know how long it would take," said father-of-two David Mokqosi who has been working at Elandsrand since 1987."It's the first time something has happpened like that. This should be a lesson to the management. We must have an escape route."Paramedics had been sent down to check on the other miners, who were trapped at level 73 of the mine, some 2.2 kilometres below the surface.After unions earlier expressed fears the miners face the danger of suffocating, Soares said the rescuers would bring them fresh oxygen supplies."They will make sure that enough oxygen is sent down so there is no risk," she said.Singing to pass the timeThe National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said shop stewards were sent down with the rescuers in order to calm the anxieties of those waiting to surface."Anxiety and exhaustion can create a situation where you get anxiety attacks and people might rush the cages," NUM spokesperson Peter Bailey told AFP.One of the first to emerge to the ground said however there was little sign of panic."We were not too worried because we had our (head)lights. We were singing, speaking to each other to pass the time," said Serame Mnisi.Harmony, the fifth largest gold producer in the world, bought Elandsrand from rival AngoGold in a R1bn deal in 2001 in which it also acquired the neighbouring Deelkraal mine.Since then, it has been busy deepening the sub-shafts in order to access what it has described as 6.9 million ounces of proven gold reserves.Second safety scareThe incident at Elandsrand is the second safety scare in the last fortnight. One person needed hospital treatment late last month after a fire broke out at St Helena mine, near the town of Welkom in the Free State.Patrice Motsepe, Harmony's chairperson, was present as workers were brought to the surface but would not be drawn on the cause of the accident."The focus is first to make sure that everyone is out safely and in good condition. Later, we will examine the circumstances that led to the accident."Bailey said the latest incident should serve as a wake-up call to the gold mining industry which is a major driver of the South African economy."The gold industry in general is very negligent on safety matters," he said."The lesson that must be drawn from this is that you cannot have a cage, with electric cables, run on a daily basis and not do daily safety checks." - AFP
