Mining company responds about death of boys at its Reiger Park facility

DRDGOLD has responded following the death of the two boys who drowned apparently after being sucked down in a quicksand-like substance underneath a pool of rainwater in the company’s Elsburg gold surface tailings treatment facility next to Reiger Park.

Information gathered suggests that the two Goedehoop Primary School learners, Wyatt Peters (7) and Nasri Trollip (9), joined their friends and went for a quick swim in the ponds in the nearby mine dump, without their parents’ knowledge.

The two brothers became trapped in the sinking muddy bed of one of the ponds on January 20 before they were found dead the following day, by the family and residents who assisted in the search for the missing children.

DRDGOLD said it is determined to prevent a similar event from recurring, and is considering additional safety measures that will require collaborative efforts between the mine and the community.

“DRDGOLD confirms with regret that two brothers drowned while swimming in a rainwater containment paddock at the company’s tailings reclamation site in Germiston.

“The company has been in touch with the family and various community committees and has had various meetings both in person and telephonically with community representatives in the weeks following the incident.

“The company also provided moral and financial support to the family to ensure that the brothers received a dignified burial and to help cover associated costs,” said the mining representative R&A Strategic Communications’ Jane Kamau.

According to Kamau, DRDGOLD considers the Reiger Park community, like its other communities neighbouring its operations, as an important stakeholder for the company.
“The fact that two young children from this area have lost their lives on our facilities has affected us deeply. Our immediate response to the tragedy, as well as the ongoing response and mitigation activities, bear testament to this.

“An internal investigation into the drownings by the company is now nearing completion. It has been established that earlier that afternoon, four young children were warned by the mine’s patrolling security guards that they were trespassing and that it was not safe for them to be on the premises.

“This notwithstanding, four young children between the ages of seven and 12 later managed to venture undetected to the paddock. It cannot be confirmed beyond reasonable doubt whether the minors confronted by the security were the same as the minors that later gained access to the rainwater containment paddock.

“The mine is determined to prevent a similar event from recurring; however, many of the seemingly obvious measures such as warning signs, fences or security staff have in this kind of environment proven either impractical or ineffectual.

“The reality being that physical barriers tend to have a very short life span and are either stolen or vandalised, while experience has shown that guards posted on-site invariably get attacked, robbed and assaulted.”

Kamau said the existing conditions compel the mine to consider the issue of securing the facility on an integrated basis to eliminate the risk to vulnerable members of the Reiger Park community.

“One of the recommendations under consideration is, therefore, to collaborate with the neighbouring community to establish a monitoring forum – broadly along the lines of a neighbourhood watch – supported by DRDGOLD and staffed by volunteers from the community to monitor the movement of vulnerable individuals, especially young children crossing a ‘virtual fence’ at Reiger Park towards the facility.”

Kamau pointed out that the reclamation of the Elsburg site is nearing completion and it will thus soon be completely cleared and restored. She added that the land will be sustainably repurposed with the risks associated with an active mining site being eliminated.

“Although this would not be categorised as a ‘reportable incident’ in terms of the Mine Health and Safety Act, the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy has also been notified and provided with details of the incident.”

Grieving mother
Meanwhile, the bereaved mother of the two boys, Chezelle Peters, said she still finds it hard to cope with the loss and added that her grieving process is compounded by the traumatic memories she has about the day when the children’s bodies were found in the pool.

“Losing a child is the absolute painful thing that can happen to a parent. I still feel like I’ve lost part of myself, but I’ve come to realise that as time passes, I will have to adapt to the fact that I may never really get over my children’s death and I must just learn to live with it.”

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