Man shot dead during protest at Limpopo mine

One person was fatally wounded during a protest at the Grootegeluk mine in Limpopo on Tuesday.

The deceased was among community protesters who entered a private property belonging to Exxaro and set alight part of the veld and a conveyor belt leading out of the mine.

“The community member died on the scene after a fatal rubber bullet shot after an exchange with a private security company. We convey our sympathies to the family and community members on this unfortunate loss of life. We will be liaising with the family pending the police investigation,” the mine said in a statement.

The mine said the protest had been ongoing for weeks and and mine management had engaged Lephalale Local Municipality leaders, including the mayor, Jack Maeko, to try to resolve the issues that has led to protests and marches.

“The mine management has been engaged in the structured process to address issues related to local recruitment, local procurement, enterprise and supplier development, skills development and social investment initiatives.  

Members of the community engaged in a parallel process of illegal protests outside the structured process on a number of occasions during these consultations, resulting in violent actions that led to the destruction of critical infrastructure and the fatal injury to one of the protesters on the morning of Tuesday,” the mine said.  

The mine has committed to reaching a long-term resolution on future opportunities for the benefit of community members.  

It added that production and sales would be affected by the continuing unrest.

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