Zorena Jantze
FAMILY members of Gerson Nauyoma, a mine worker employed by Xingfeng Investments, are demanding answers after he passed away following an illness at the lithium ore mine located between Uis and Henties Bay.
Nauyoma, aged 51, passed away on Tuesday, 28 May 2024, after complaining of feeling unwell at work on Friday, 24 May 2024.
Informanté tracked down one of Nauyoma’s relatives, Rashi Haidula, who has criticized the fact that the mining company, Xingfeng Investments, did not wish to answer questions about whether Nauyoma and other workers at the mine had safety and protective wear whilst carrying out their duties at the lithium mining operation.
Haidula explained that Nauyoma last week Friday complained that he had not been feeling well and said that he was coughing up black stuff from his stomach.
He added that his nephew subsequently went to a clinic in Swakopmund and was thereafter transferred to the hospital after it was established that he had been coughing up blood. Haidula added that his relative was put on oxygen between Sunday and Monday and died on Tuesday, 28 May 2024, at around 16:00 hours.
The site manager at the mine, Kafita Fanta, also spoke to Informanté and said that he only heard the news of his colleague passing away on Monday, as he had gone to the north last week Wednesday, and only returned on Sunday, 26 May.
“Monday morning, I heard Nauyoma was sick. According to information I received, he had already started feeling sick on Wednesday, 22 May 2024. On Thursday he said that he still had not been feeling well and complained of chest problems. On Friday he went to do some shopping with some colleagues in Swakopmund but realized that his condition was worsening,” Fanta said.
Questioned about the health and safety standards at the mine, Fanta explained that workers at the mine work at a crusher plant which crushes rocks to extract lithium ore. He added that the crushing of the rocks creates a lot of dust. He further said that workers, however, only get three masks a month and that workers are not satisfied with this. Further to this, Fanta said that workers are asking to be provided with better quality masks as the mining operation has too much dust.
