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The Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela has postponed the civil case between the owners of Lily Mine, Vantage Goldfields, business rescue practitioners and potential investor, Arqomanzi.
Arqomanzi is accusing the business rescue practitioners of changing the business rescue plan without consulting them as creditors. They allege that this was done for the benefit of Vantage Goldfields after it secured a financial deal with Australia-based company, Macquarie Metals.
Acting Judge, Denise Greyling-Coetzer postponed the matter to Wednesday. “We’ve got another issue which I’m sure you are aware of. I have only been placed in possession of the answering affidavit and replying affidavit approximately 10 minutes ago. That leaves us in a position where I do not believe I’m in a position to properly adjudicate the matter without first having read the answering affidavit as well as the replying affidavit.”
Five years ago, the mine was closed after part of it caved in, leaving workers trapped underground. Rescue efforts were stopped after engineers declared the site unsafe.
Members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee suggested that the mine should be expropriated and declared a disaster site. This, after mine management failed to retrieve the bodies of the three mineworkers, who were trapped underground.
Remembering Lily Mine victims, five years later:
