- Two former Lily Mine senior workers have disputed allegations that the tragic incident was allegedly caused by drilling and blasting near and on the crown pillar.
- Barend Johannes Koorzen claimed that no instruction was given to any miner to drill the crown pillar.
- Koorzen testified that the mine followed health and safety regulations before the incident.
A former Lily Mine captain has disputed allegations that "negligence" could have contributed to the 2016 catastrophic disaster that saw a container falling into a sinkhole with three workers inside.
Barend Johannes Koorzen claimed evidence earlier tabled by his former colleague Dean Martin Ackerman was incorrect.
Ackerman earlier testified that he was forced to drill near and on the crown pillar at level 4, above the lamp room which was a shipping container in which Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi and Solomon Nyirenda worked.
It is alleged that after some time, the crown pillar became weak and later collapsed underground, taking with it the lamp room.
Koorzen testified on Friday at the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court during an inquest into the incident that left the three workers trapped underground since 5 February 2016.
He said he worked at the mine between 2012 and 2013 before heading to Guinea, west of Africa.
He is currently working at a mine in Zambia.
“The crown pillar was closed and could not be accessed. During my tenure, there was no collapse or tragedy. I didn’t observe the hanging wall at level 4. I left the mine two years before the collapse and didn’t observe it.
“I deny allegations that I didn’t listen to miners’ complaints. The Lily Mine management was detailed and followed all health and safety measures.
"They had a four-month plan on how to extract the ore. The plan was to pre-empt what to expect in the coming four months,” Koorsten said.
He continued that those plans would be broken down into detailed monthly, weekly and later daily plans.
“Plans involved everybody at the mine. There were minutes taken down for each plan. If Ackerman was not comfortable in drilling where he was not supposed to, he should have complained to management, including his union or human resources manager.
“I didn’t force him to drill at dangerous places,” Koorsten said.
Another witness, former mine overseer Philipus Johannes Jacobus Storm, claimed that operation standards at the now-closed mine were high.
Storm claimed that he had acquired 41 years of experience in the mining industry.
"Lily Mine was a stable mine. It is still unbelievable that the pillar failed. The mine was regularly examined before miners arrived underground."
Storm said:
Storm claimed that emergency services were then called to the scene after the disaster, followed by mine rescue services.
“I spent an average of about 14 hours a day at the mine monitoring the rescue operations. Everything possible was done to try and recover the container and rescue people who were unaccounted for.
“At the time, rescue teams complained about their safety, but they persistent in overcoming their fear up to the point where the place became unstable.
“The sequence of the collapse is unknown. We moved more than 7000 tons trying to establish the sequence of the tragic event. We tried getting to the container, but we were unsuccessful. The pressure on the weight on the container is not an issue. I think the container should have split into half,” said Storm.
He added that he had survived a shooting incident, allegedly by illegal miners.
Nkambule, Mnisi and Nyirenda remain trapped underground and are presumed dead.
They are presumed deceased.
The hearing continues on 8 November.