Ditched workers want jobs back as new owner takes over besieged Optimum Coal Mine

The resumption of trains at the formerly Gupta-owned Optimum Coal Mine in Mpumalanga was met with great excitement from the new owners, Liberty Coal, earlier this month when the first consignments were sent down to Richards Bay.

It, however, also caught the attention of hundreds of former Optimum employees, some of whom gathered outside the mine gates on Thursday to demand an engagement about their employment prospects.

Former Optimum employee Sipho Nkambule said the group was met with private security and police and have been instructed to route their request through the National Union of Mineworkers.