Various witnesses have been heard during the Lily Mine inquest*. On Monday November 22, the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court heard from two surveyors, Gustav Barnardt and Trevor Crownwright. The inquest is looking into the February 5, 2016 tragedy, in which a container had disappeared into a sinkhole with three workers trapped inside.

Yvonne Mnisi, Solomon Nyirenda and Pretty Nkambule have not yet been found. In his testimony, Barnardt gave information on the rainfall and the amount of water in a certain pit. He said they had become concerned about the level of water after nine months of monitoring it.

“After we had done the nine months of monitoring, a couple of things happened at that time. “We installed a pump on May 4. I was involved in the installation and monitoring thereof. “Two weeks before the collapse, we had a production meeting and we reported that there was no water coming from the pit. In the meeting it was said that the pit was dry.” He added that his office had been broken into twice, and that some documents important to the inquiry had gone missing.

Another surveyor, Crownwright, testified that he had sent a memo to the managers and technical managers just to warn them that an incident was going to occur.The magistrate asked if he had foreseen any risks or issues. Crownwright mentioned that he had not seen anything of any of the previous reports himself, but that the 15-metre pillar was a substantial safety pillar.

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He also said it was necessary to get a risk assessment done by a rock mechanic and the chief inspector to get the mine’s approval before any mining could commence underground in that area. He said this was all in the memo he had handed to his superiors to warn them about that. The provincial NPA’s spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said, “The inquiry went back to the magistrate’s court from Monday November 22 and will last until Friday November 26.”

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* According to the Inquest Act 58 of 1959, an inquest is held in the case of a death or alleged death apparently occurring from other than natural causes and for matters incidental thereto. It is not a trial – there are no accused parties. The procedure seeks to determine the circumstances within which the Lily Mine tragedy had occurred. Lowvelder will continue to attend the Lily Mine inquest proceedings throughout and report the versions of all parties called to testify.