High Court Judge Brenda Neukircher has probed the applicants that have launched an urgent application against the State in thematter on the Margaret Mine Shaft in North West that has been made available by the various Government entities and is supposedly a safer exit for the miners who are still underground.
The urgent application was brought before the High Court in which the Society for the Protection of our Constitution seeks relief that the alleged illegal prospectors be provided with emergency relief and that the Stilfontein Mine Shaft be unblocked. She says, “What do I do with the fact that the respondents tell me that there is another mine shaft available through which these miners have and can still exit, that Stilfontein mine shaft is problematic because it’s 2km deep and they are busy sending in a team to assess the safety of that mine shaft, but in the meantime, Margaret is made available and miners can actually exit.”
The High Court has also heard that it is the State’s duty to safeguard the rights of the suspected illegal miners.