Portugal Colonial - 260 miners stuck underground after 'incident' at S.African shaft

Mining employs hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa -- the biggest exporter of platinum and a major exporter of gold, diamonds, coal and other raw materials -- and accidents are common.

"All 260 employees have been accounted for, are safe and have been provided with food," Sibanye-Stillwater said in a statement.

"The employees are not trapped; it was decided to keep them at the sub-shaft station for now," spokesperson Henrika Ninham said.

Sibanye-Stillwater said the miners should be brought to surface around midday Friday.

The National Union of Mineworkers said the incident had occurred around 10 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday and expressed concern for the miners who had been "underground for almost 20 hours".

Dozens of mineworkers are killed each year, though numbers have been falling as safety standards have been stepped up over the past two decades.

According to industry group Minerals Council South Africa, 42 miners died in 2024, compared to 55 the previous year.

T.Batista--PC