The mine pit that has been filled with water from Sibanye Stillwater
ON THE morning of June 16, a routine operational day at the chrome prospect Elandskraal 469JQ, Portion 128, near Mooinooi in the Madibeng District, turned into a scene of rapid flooding and operational disruption.
According to Androsol Mining, workers were scheduled to move about 35 000 tonnes of run-of-mine chrome ore and supply three contracted beneficiation wash plants. By mid-morning, an excavator had been abandoned in a rapidly flooding pit after its operator evacuated the area.
At the centre of the dispute is Sibanye Stillwater, which acknowledges installing a pipe and pumping water into the pit. The parties sharply disagree on the reasons for the discharge and whether it was a necessary safety intervention or caused avoidable damage to Androsol’s operations.
Sibanye Stillwater says it acted to prevent a potentially serious safety and environmental incident involving a stormwater dam on its property and that its actions were undertaken with the approval of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
