Old Indwe coal mine gives daily bread
September 16th, 2008 | by mantrionline |POVERTY around Indwe has led many people living in the township to earn their living dangerously – like digging for coal down an old mine from the 1800s just to put food on the table for their families.
The mine entrance, halfway up a mountain, is visible from the road on the left coming in from the Dordrecht side.
The mine was reopened by Phikile Skeyi in 1998 after he found the people from his town were dying of hunger.
“You know, you don’t have to wait for the government to come and support you; you will starve to death. It takes one man’s brains to feed a nation,” he said.
Phikile worked in the Free State as a miner for most of his life but in 2007 was retrenched. He decided to reopen the disused mine, which was shut down in the late 1800s, for the sake of his community.
To get started he spoke to all unemployed young men from his township, asking them if they were interested in the “mining business” .
“As there was no prospects for the people in the area, they were keen to join me and we started our plans,” he said.
Phikile’s plan to open the mine took root the day he received a letter informing him of his retrenchment.
“I knew that I had to open my own mine back home. I wasn’t worried at all that my family would have to go to bed hungry, and here I am today, still doing the job with my guys,” he said, a big smile creasing his face.
“I’ve chased poverty away.”
After careful observation approximately 10 entrances to the mine can be seen.
As we approached we saw people smeared in black coal dust from head to foot. Many were not too friendly, but I introduced myself by my clan name.
I could see their faces relaxing a bit.
“We don’t entertain strangers in this mine because strangers mean trouble,” explained Skeyi.
“I won’t say I am the boss here; we all share the fruits of this mountain. We are working as a team but of course there should be someone who has to be a leader in any organisation,” he said.
Since the mine was reopened 10 years ago, Skeyi says, not one accident has occurred due to their safety standards.
“No one comes here drunk. We work as a team and if we see that there is a problem between two employees, we quickly sort it out.
“It is dangerous inside there and any fights can lead to death and we don’t want that,” he said.
Skeyi also told the Dispatch @venture team that although the mine had been closed for over a century, they could still see the old rail tracks inside the mountain.
They mine as deep as 200m and coal is hauled out of the mine with their bare hands after being dug out with picks and shovels .
Underground, candles burn the entire day while at times battery- operated torches are used.
To stop rocks from falling on them they use big logs as support beams, although this does not guarantee safety.
Masixole Malava, 20, had just joined the mine and said the work was risky.
“But we don’t have a choice. We have to stay alive,” he said.
Malava’s main job is to pick out rocks from the coal. “I am not interested in getting inside the mine. It’s dangerous and too dark.”
Work starts at 10am and ends any time in the afternoon. If a day is fruitful they can carry out about 150 full loads of coal.
Their customers are mostly business people who come from as far as Queenstown, Mthatha, Tarkastad and other areas to buy coal.
Employees earn anything from R40 a day, depending on their experience and length of service.
