WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-02-03 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Adriana
SA: 60,000 gold-miners, contractors lose jobs in worsening electricity crisis
Harmony Gold mines – which is the fifth-largest gold producer in the world — announced that it was going to fire more than 50,000 South African mine-workers in order to reduce its electricity use by 10% – which was demanded by the ANC-regime.
With South Africa’s tax-base already reduced to only 3-million taxpayers – in a population of 48-million — such massive job losses represent a huge blow to its economy.
– Other SA mines, producing platinum, diamonds, and a large variety of important ferro-minerals, are also being being forced to cut down drastically on electricity use, and further job losses are inevitable.
There’s also a knock-on effect: one gold-mine this week ended its contracts with 2,000 contractors in one mining-town alone, Westonaria; and this is happening throughout the mining regions of South Africa at the moment.
Two of Harmony Goldmine’s shafts, the Evander and Bambanani, will be closed permanently – 7,200 workers will lose their jobs there this month.
http://www.harmony.co.za/im/press_display.asp?pressId=110
Goldfields — among its directors are ANC-stalwarts such as Tokyo Sexwale and Jakes Gerwel — also had to cut its electricity use by at least 10%, so it is closing six of its 21 shafts and 10,000 people will lose their jobs.
http://www.goldfields.co.za/news_mediareleases_display.asp?navDisplay=News&YID=2008&Id2=184
Mr Dick Kruger of the SA Chamber of Mines says the mines are examining how much gold they are producing for each kilowatt of electricity.
“If a shaft’s energy-use is too high in reference to its gold-production, it will have to close.’
But even mines with closed shafts require a lot of electricity — in fact they still use between 50% and 60% to keep ventilation and cooling systems going – and to keep pumping the shafts dry to prevent them from being flooded.
Flooded mines can cause massive environmental damage and dangerous collapses.
http://www.news24.com/Rapport/Nuus/0,,752-795_2263560,00.html
In Westonaria, home of the Kloof Mine, 2,000 contractors have heard that their contracts will be ended – and are now looking for another source of income.
Kloof Gold had net earnings last year to R790-million with 28,705kg of gold.
KLOOF GOLDMINE, DRIEFONTEIN SHAFT:
http://www.goldfields.co.za/reports/annual_report_2007/images/operational_review_09.gif
link: http://www.goldfields.co.za/operations_kloof….br>
And the Kloof Mine’s workers who still have kept their jobs, had nothing to do but catch fish, sleep and drink beer last week, when the mine was closed.
Rapport visited the mining town of Westonaria, home of the Kloof goldmine.
This mine — as have all SA mines last week — was forced to close down an entire week because poorly-run parastatal utility Eskom had demanded it.
From the stoep of the Glenharvie bottle store, a group of men stand around with some Black Labels and worry.
The elevator-wheels in the shaft-tower are working again and Thursday-night, the first shift of mineworkers went down again.
But the men say that’s no solace to them at all.
Said goldminer John Moekwena, 30 “We don’t know what will happen. We are getting worried. Are we going to get our money? ‘ he asked.
The parking lot in front of the bottle-store echo back the loud acclamations from his colleagues.
“All we could do was to sleep,’ said Simon Dlamini, lifting his Black Label and taking a sip. At the entrance to the cafe, Dawid Janse van Rensburg, an Afrikaner contractor for the Kloof Mine, confirms the worries, saying that ‘many miners just went fishing last week…’
“our future? We don’t know what will happen. Most people aren’t just worried about their salaries, but also about their bonuses, that extra bit of cash you need to pay your debts off with. This is the worst crisis to hit mining in the past 18 years,’ he added.
About 5km down the road in the town of Lebanon, at a pub called “Shaft 8”, miner Ray Clark recalls 1991, the year when the South Africa gold-mining industry nearly collapsed.
“That was the last great panic. That was the panic which had people pack up and leave.It doesn’t just affect the mines, but also all the other companies relying on the mines.”
Clark, also a mining contractor, said his company this week was told that their contracts will end this week. And in Westonaria alone, 2,000 (contractors) are now looking for another way to make a living,’ he said.
http://www.news24.com/Rapport/Nuus/0,,752-795_2263564,00.html
Contact information:
Harmony Gold Mines: Graham Briggs , Chief Executive Officer, (43)+27(0)11 411 2012, (43)+27 (0)83 265 0274
Gold Fields: Reidwaan Wookay, Tel: (43)+27 11 644 2665
BAMBANANI SHAFT OF HARMONY GOLD:
http://www.harmony.co.za/i/g/sa/bb_tunnel02_l.jpg
http://www.harmony.co.za/im/g_bambanani.asp
GOLDFIELDS ELECTRICITY CUTS JAN 28 2008:
“The amount currently available is sufficient for essential maintenance, pumping, ventilation, refrigeration, opening up faces and making safe, but not for production or beneficiation purposes, as agreed with Eskom. “
http://www.goldfields.co.za/news_mediareleases_display.asp?navDisplay=News&YID=2008&Id2=181
Source: http://www.news24.com/Rapport/Nuus/0,,752-795_2263560,00.html