AngloGold Ashanti flips the switch on Aurora's Orkney mine: Acid mine water will rise without electricity - Solidarity
No salaries, no transport, no food and from today, no electricity or heat. More than 700 former Aurora employees and their families from Orkney who are still living in the mine's hostels were left without electricity supply this morning, the trade union Solidarity said today. AngloGold Ashanti, which had provided electricity to Aurora in Orkney since the liquidation of the former Pamodzi mining group in 2009, discontinued this service this morning due to non-payment.
According to Gideon du Plessis, Deputy General Secretary of Solidarity, AngloGold Ashanti placed a notice announcing this move in a local community newspaper last week. "According to the notice, Aurora and the liquidators of Pamodzi had more than enough time to make arrangements with Eskom to prevent disruptions in the electricity supply, but these arrangements were clearly not made," Du Plessis said. "Now 700 distressed people will be left without electricity in the cold, wet weather," he added.
Du Plessis also indicated that the acid mine water that will start to rise at the Orkney mine if the electricity supply is discontinued will severely diminish the value of the mining asset.
"Although the acid mine water at the Orkney mine does not pose an immediate environmental threat, it could cause damage amounting to millions of rand and pose a threat to the neighbouring mines," he explained. "It will take months to restore the mine in order to resume operations. The flooding will also damage the underground equipment, which would take months to repair, and lead to financial losses," he added.
Du Plessis is not surprised that AngloGold took this step. "It appears that it is the exception rather than the rule for Aurora to pay its service providers and after two years of non-payment, AngloGold Ashanti is unable to continue providing the service.
Meanwhile Solidarity has appealed to the Industrial Development Corporation to intervene in the situation urgently. The IDC has a large stake in the Orkney mine.
Statement issued by Gideon du Plessis, Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity, April 20 2011
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