Meet Mannas Fourie: The leader behind the rescue of 246 Stilfontein zama-zamas destined to return

Mines Rescue Services (MRS), under the leadership of Mannas Fourie, recently saved 246 illegal miners (zama-zamas) who were trapped in an abandoned mineshaft in Stilfontein, South Africa. The rescue operation was preceded by a tense standoff with authorities before MRS received the go-ahead. In an interview with Biznews, Fourie detailed the operation's challenges, which included adverse weather, the manoeuvring of heavy equipment, and the retrieval of miners from a depth of 1,280 metres, necessitating a specialised mobile rescue winder capable of operating in deep vertical shafts up to 3,000 metres. Fourie emphasised that MRS does not discriminate between legal and illegal miners in need of rescue; when lives are at stake, their passion to save lives takes precedence, even at the risk of their own safety. He also highlighted South Africa's world-leading expertise in deep mining rescues and noted that, despite the dangers and rescue efforts, the zama-zamas are likely to return, driven by high-grade mineral deposits that remain and because there is money to be made..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.Edited transcript of the interview.Linda van Tilburg (00:02.458).Mines Rescue Services or MRS led by Mannas Fourie recently rescued 246 illegal miners or zama zamas trapped in an abandoned mineshaft in Stilfontein in South Africa. The mission followed a tense standoff between the miners and authorities before MRS finally got the go ahead for a rescue mission. While operating in extreme heat and total darkness, this high-risk rescue mission raises the question. What drives Fourie and his team to face such danger? Mannas Fourie has joined us in the Biznews Studio to explain. .Mannas, can you describe this rescue operation at Stilfontein and the key elements it entailed?.Mannas Fourie (00:52.896).Basically, this incident occurred in a vertical shaft where we had to rescue illegal miners trapped at a depth of 1,280 metres. In November last year, I was asked to lower a camera down the shaft to check for any miners or people trapped inside. We did this, and by attaching a notepad to the cable, the miners managed to write back, informing us that there were 480 people wanting to come out. This marked the beginning of the entire operation, which required deploying our mobile rescue winder..Rescuing individuals from a depth of 1,280 metres necessitates specialised equipment, and fortunately, the South African mining industry recognised some time ago the need for a device capable of rescuing people from depths of up to 3,000 metres, as that is the depth at which we mine. This machine was developed, designed, and constructed by South Africans here in South Africa, and we secured the right to test it at one of our member mines up to 3,000 metres. Confident in our skills and capabilities, we deployed this machine to rescue the trapped miners..Linda van Tilburg (02:13.388).So, what was the biggest challenge during this rescue operation?.Mannas Fourie (02:21.476).It was a challenge for us because each operation is distinct and there is no script or manual that outlines what needs to be done. You have to think on your feet. The challenges we faced in this operation included ensuring the safety of our rescue team members who had to be lowered into the shaft. We also had to carefully park the truck right against the large open hole, ensuring it didn't fall into the shaft..Read more: Javier Milei shakes Davos: Argentina's President declares war on 'Wokeism' and calls for global liberty.Our rescue team members had to work around the barrel area of the shaft, dropping equipment down and extracting people. Unfortunately, the weather was also not in our favour. It rained quite a bit in the region, making the gravel road from the tarred road to the incident site quite wet. Our truck weighs 45 tons, and we needed to get it all the way to the shaft. We spent two days on ground compaction work to ensure the truck didn't sink in. These were just a few of the challenges we encountered. There were many other operational challenges, but with the knowledge, expertise, and skills within our company, and the training our team has undergone, I believe we succeeded in rescuing a significant number of people each day..Linda van Tilburg (03:34.594).Can you give us a description of what you found?.Mannas Fourie (03:39.428).We installed cameras in our cage, one at the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top, to monitor the situation inside. Two volunteers from the local community, who were familiar with the miners and had been supplying them with food, offered to help. We trained them on how to operate our machinery and equipment. They descended to the level where we could see, via the cameras, that the miners were lined up and eager to come out. That's where we found 246 people alive and subsequently rescued them. It was a lengthy process because, unlike in a standard operating shaft where the cage travels between guides for stability, our equipment had no steel structures to guide it. We were limited to moving at 1.5 meters per second to avoid any risk of bumping against the shaft and harming people. Consequently, it took about 45 minutes to reach the miners, load them, and return to the surface to unload them..Linda van Tilburg (05:00.577).So, when they came out, what did they say to you? Did you speak to them?.Mannas Fourie (05:06.49).The process was well organised. We designated a specific area and sectioned it off to prevent anyone, including the police and other support personnel, from getting too close to the shaft because we weren't sure how the situation would unfold when the first people surfaced. We were concerned that there could be chaos and someone might fall into the shaft. Therefore, we took responsibility for securing the area in which we were operating. Every time the cage reached the surface; guards were attached to our machine with retractable lines. As the cage stopped, they opened the door, and people were physically guided by hand to the area where they were handed over to the authorities. The individuals were visibly relieved to see us and to be back on the surface, grateful to be alive..Linda van Tilburg (05:55.895).So, what do think would happen? Would they return and continue mining?.Mannas Fourie (06:02.51).Yes, unfortunately, illegal mining in South Africa is quite a lucrative business, with a lot of money to be made. There are indeed high-grade areas of ore that were left behind by mining companies. These weren't just left behind for no reason; they were left as support pillars to maintain ground stability, allowing miners to work safely. So, there was a purpose in leaving them. As long as there's a market for it, people will return to mine these areas illicitly, which is rather unfortunate for our country. This situation does not bode well for us, given the consequences we've witnessed..Linda van Tilburg (06:36.013).What kind of specialised training does your team undergo to perform these high-risk rescues?.Mannas Fourie (06:43.866).I need to give credit to my guys. I mean, we had a wonderful team on site. You know, we placed a target of 35 people a day to be brought out to surface. Initially, there were believed to 800 to 1,500 miners, So, we started off slow and we said we're going to see how it goes and then we will change over to a 24-hour operation. The guys then got together and they gave themselves a target of 100 people. That's what they want to bring out and they actually exceeded that. They brought up to 160 people out a day..They even pushed until 12 o'clock at night, work as long hours as they could. Then we went back to sleep until 4 o'clock. The guys only got four hours sleep every night. So, if we look at the training, these guys, there's two specialised proto teams in South Africa, which have been skilled and coached how to operate this machine, how to be the driver of the machine and deploying this machine. So, these teams come on a quarterly basis to us. We then go out to some of the mines that has open shafts, which is not working..We then physically simulate a rescue and recovery. So, every quarter these guys do the full application from responding from office, rigging up the machine, going down the shaft, bringing it back up and making sure that the machine is 100 % operational when needed..Linda van Tilburg (07:58.186).What motivates you and your team? Why did you get into this kind of rescue operation?.Mannas Fourie (08:05.336).I think it's the camaraderie and passion people have for helping others. These guys are rescuing people they don't even know and might never meet again. In South Africa, we have around 450,000 mine workers, and I can assure you every single miner knows that if something happens, someone will come for them. There's a huge amount of respect here. We call them the proto-teams, and the admiration for the proto-guys runs deep. There's discipline, camaraderie—these guys are top-notch in what they do. When we train, we've got about a 45 to 50 percent pass rate for those who join our organization. It's truly the best of the best who make it and want to be part of this. .Who wouldn't feel proud walking away knowing they've saved lives? It's a calling, and these guys really go above and beyond. It's sad to say, but these guys would risk their lives to save others. Over the past century, we've lost 42 people while they were rescuing or doing mining-related firefighting to ensure the mines stay operational. So, it's not just about rescuing people, it's also about handling disasters or incidents at the mines to get them back on track as soon as possible, saving jobs in the process. We're enabling mines to still operate. If it takes too long, a lot of these small mining companies that hasn't got a lot of cash flow can go into business rescue and close down and people can lose their work. So, it puts a huge responsibility on these guys..Linda van Tilburg (09:48.447).So, are you the only company in South Africa providing this critical service?.Mannas Fourie (09:53.978).This company was established by the mining industry in 1994. It identified the need for a dedicated service, and it remains owned by the mining industry. It's a company that the mining companies in South Africa truly cherish. They provide us with immense support, and whenever they call on us, we ensure we are ready to respond. They subscribe to a membership scheme of mines rescue services, which allows them, with a simple phone call, to deploy any rescue team in South Africa from any mine to assist in emergencies. This shared membership scheme ensures emergency preparedness and swift response across South Africa..Read more: Alec Hogg's Davos moments: Milei challenges WEF elites, advocates Argentina's economic model.We are quite substantial, with 150 underground teams consisting of a minimum of six members each, bringing the total number of rescue team volunteers to 1,180 in South Africa. Recently, we have started to explore operations in open-cast mines and surface operations. In the last few years, we've enlisted about 409 surface fire responders, who can also address surface fire disasters across the country. I believe there are very few entities in the country that can boast of having so many people ready to pull together and mobilise resources quickly in the event of a disaster..Linda van Tilburg (11:15.869).What's your background? How did it come about that you specialised in this dangerous field?.Mannas Fourie (11:23.582).When I started off in the mining as a young boy, I always saw these guys going out dealing with all these dangerous situations and being looked after and being looked up to from every single mining employee. So, I said, I need to get myself into this. I need to be part of this team. Fortunately, in my younger year, I joined the proto teams where I worked for about seven years. I became the captain and I had a great passion for what we were doing. But unfortunately, as I took on more senior management positions, I had to let go and focus on the operational side of things. But when this position came up as Chief Executive Officer for South Africa, I immediately jumped to it to come back to the organisation. It's a passion for me and I love what I'm doing..I always say that I'm a father of 1,180 boys because they're my boys. I need to look after them wherever I go and whatever we do..Linda van Tilburg (12:16.361).Does it matter to you that most of these miners were illegally in the country and they're likely foreigners? Do you distinguish?.Mannas Fourie (12:20.25).We do not distinguish. We've rescued a lot of illegal miners in South Africa. When we get called, there's a life at stake. We don't discriminate. We just go and do what we have to do to make sure that we can preserve life and give closure to families if needed. So, we do it immediately, we don't have doubt. We say, let's go and help and sort this problem out in the country..Linda van Tilburg (12:49.065).Do you operate outside South Africa's borders?.Mannas Fourie (12:53.498).About two or three years ago, we began exploring opportunities beyond South Africa. Our work has taken us to Russia and various parts of Africa, where we have been actively involved in training many individuals. Our efforts are global, and we are proud members of the International Mines Rescue Body—a fraternity that oversees mining rescue operations worldwide. We share our insights and learn from our peers, and I am honoured to serve as a board member of this esteemed organisation..I can assure you that South Africa is a leader in our field, with the world looking to us for guidance. We also have moments where we learn from other nations. Interestingly, of the ten deepest mines in the world, eight are in South Africa. This brings unique challenges that differ from those faced by other mining operations around the globe. These conditions equip us with invaluable knowledge and expertise..Although our company is not vast in numbers, we manage every scenario that arises across the country. This means that our accumulated knowledge and expertise remain within our team. When incidents occur, they are not new challenges for us. We know precisely what to do and work closely with management to lead effective responses..Linda van Tilburg (14:13.448).Is there's anything else you'd like to add?.Mannas Fourie (14:14.746).The support we receive from everybody out there, the public, our rescue team members, the mine management, every single person that believes in us and that support us – it's just amazing. I just want to thank them. We really appreciate everything that came our way..Linda van Tilburg (14:35.937).You do amazing work. Thank you so much for speaking to us..Mannas Fourie (14:41.464).You're welcome, thank you Linda. It was an opportunity and a pleasure for me. Thank you..Read also:.Shapiro: SA economy falters; US tech boom lifts markets after Trump inaugurationBritish Lord vows to haunt "State Capture" corporateBN Briefing: Ukraine's Zelensky on a Russia peace deal, Lord Hain vs Bain, US eyes AI Superpower

Meet Mannas Fourie: The leader behind the rescue of 246 Stilfontein zama-zamas destined to return

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