Opencast mines are permitted to return in phases to 100% operation from May 1 but underground mines must continue at 50% of production capacity, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Saturday. Speaking during a media briefing covered by Mining Weekly on South Africa’s easing from the current Level 5 lockdown stage to Level 4, Patel said: “Mining has already begun the process of workers returning to work. They do so in batches because of the large numbers involved. Not all workers in mining can go back at the same time and my colleague Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has already outlined how that process will work in Level 5.
