They are still trapped underground since February 2016 when a lamp-room container they were working in fell into a sinkhole.
The Vantage Gold Fields plans to retrieve the three Lily Mine workers next year.
That’s according to business rescue practitioner Rob Devereaux.
Devereaux said they have secured the R300 million which they have always been requiring to be able to rescue Yonne Mnisi, Pretty Nkambule and Solomon Nyerende.
“We have new investors and the R300 million we have secured is enough,” Devereaux told news agency African News Agency this week.
“We have signed agreements but there are certain conditions that must be met before the money flows in,” he said.
“Once the money comes in, we will start developing a new shaft and open the mine in July 2018,” said Devereaux.
ALSO RELATED: Lily Mine to resume operations
“The search for the remains of the trapped miners will resume a year later for safety reasons,” he said.
“This is because we still have to develop a new shaft and be able to see where the container is before we can resume the search,” Devereaux said.
A company called SSC Flaming Silver SPV agreed to invest in Vantage Gold Fields, buying 74% of it.
In November 2017, a loan of R190 million was approved by the Industrial Development Corporation for SSC Flaming Silver SPV to resume operations at the mine.
ALSO RELATED: Cosatu blames Mosebenzi Zwane for trapped Lily Mine three
Since the collapse three years ago, the mine decided to suspend operations, leaving a string of men and women unemployed.
(edited by MLM)
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