The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) intend to enlist drone technology to assess and document the underground conditions at Shafts 10 and 11 of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine.
The site visit comes as the SAPS continue its “Vala Umgodi” operation, which is aimed at tackling illegal mining activities that have been plaguing the North West region.
According to Macua, the proposal for drone technology is to work towards a speedy resolution to the Stilfontein humanitarian crisis.
The information follows a site visit by Macua along with the Stilfontein Solidarity Committee (SSC) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) at the Stilfontein mineshaft on Tuesday morning.
Macua spokesperson, Magnificent Mndebele, said: “We have sent another proposal to the State in which we explain that Macua has successfully secured funds to engage the services of a drone expert who will utilise a specialised drone to assess and document the underground conditions at Shafts 10 and 11 of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine.
“The video footage obtained through this drone inspection will be instrumental in providing all concerned parties, and possibly including the court, with a clearer understanding of the conditions faced by the trapped miners.
“The footage that can be obtained by the drone will serve to illuminate the circumstances underground, thereby facilitating informed decisionmaking about the urgency of the rescue operation, which the State has dragged its feet for the past two months.
“Upon completion of the drone operation, it is hoped that the evidence will be made available for joint assessment by all parties involved. This process will be conducted in an open and transparent manner to ensure fairness and accountability. This is not the first proposal that Macua has suggested to the State.
“Our first proposal was about two weeks ago, when the pulley system - which is instrumental for the survival of the trapped miners - was destroyed by VMR (West Gold Plant) on the premises of Buffelsfontein Gold Mine and under the supervision of the SAPS. At the time, we had offered to lower down a cellphone that will record the conditions underground to help all of us to have a better assessment of the situation underground.
“However, this proposal did not materialise as the pulley system, which was needed to send down the camera, was destroyed shortly after we made the request,” said Mndebele.
The mining rights activist group said they remain committed to ensuring that the right to life of those trapped underground is protected.
LHR spokesperson, Mametlwe Sebei, said after the site visit that the “situation has become more dire and desperate”.
“Today is the 13th day that the miners have not received any supplies in terms of food, water, or medication. You could hear from their harrowing cries from underground that the situation is very dire. People who have come out, said they have seen about 15 bodies and that was a week ago. We expect that number to have gone up since then.
“We are also engaging the police about how to re-establish the structure which is a pulley system in which we are able to assist the miners with food. We are also exploring ways in which we can exert pressure on the government in terms of ensuring that they expedite a professional rescue team with specialist equipment to save as many lives as possible. It is a tragedy that so many lives have already been lost,” said Sebei.
Police had not responded to enquiries on Tuesday.
Last week, miner Clement Moeletsi broke his silence and recounted in an affidavit how trapped miners had to improvise for basic nourishment having been left in a desperate situation.
“People began eating cockroaches and mixing toothpaste with salt to create makeshift meals, extreme measures born out of sheer deprivation. The lack of food and safe drinking water left us with no viable means of nourishment.
“From what I witnessed; it was not illness but starvation that claimed the lives of those underground. These were preventable deaths, caused not by natural circumstances but by human decisions,” Moeletsi had said.