Hundreds of workers are underground for a second day at Gold One International’s Modder East mine near Johannesburg, with the company unable to reach them during a standoff between two rival labour unions.
More than 540 workers have remained underground since the night shift ended on Sunday, according to a Gold One spokesperson. It’s not immediately clear whether some of the workers were staging a protest or being held against their will.
Jon Hericourt, a Gold One spokesperson, said by phone on Tuesday, that the miners are being kept below the surface by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union. The batteries for radios underground have since died, and “our main issue at the moment is that we can’t communicate with anybody,” he added. Bloomberg