Business Report writes that Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant said on Monday that Lily Mine in Barberton was expected to return to production.  

He also told the Bench Marks Foundation conference that the container where the bodies of three mine workers have been trapped since February last year was likely to be retrieved by as early as January.  Oliphant indicated that the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) had agreed to inject the cash needed in order to return the mine to production.  This was after attempts by the mine’s business rescue practitioner to attract investors fell through.  The failure of the investment talks was a major setback for Lily workers and the surrounding community, which depend on the mine for an income.  The owner, Vantage Gold Field, went bankrupt after a collapse of the main supporting pillar at Lily.  It was forced to close operations in both Lily Mine and the nearby Barbrook Mine.  Several jobs would be preserved at Lily Mine and Barbrook, with the R310m from IDC.

• The original of this report by Dineo Faku is reproduced at SA Labour News

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