All 3,200 gold miners trapped about 2 km underground for over 30 hours at a South African mine have been rescued, the gold company said on Thursday night.

South African paramedics help a miner after he was stuck for hours in the Elandsrand gold mine in the Carletonville district, some 80 kms southwest of Johannesburg. Rescuers completed a marathon operation Thursday to bring 3,200 workers to the surface after they had been trapped more than a mile underground at a gold mine in South Africa. [Photo: AFP]

The last of the trapped miners at Harmony Gold's Elandsrand mine near Carletonville, 75 km to the west of Johannesburg, were brought to the surface at 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT), said Lizelle du Toit, the company's Investor Relations Officer.

"The company is pleased that rescue operation is conducted successfully and safely," Du Toit told Xinhua.

No major injuries were reported during the 22-hour operation, except one worker was treated at hospital for dehydration, she said.

The rescued miners were welcomed by Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe and by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, the SAPA news agency reported.

Dirt on their faces from spending hours underground could not hide the relieved smiles.

They sang and dance and hugged their fellow workers waiting for them before heading home.

Sonjica told the media that she was "overjoyed."

"This is an extraordinary achievement and I commend everyone -- the workers who remained calm and strong and the rescuers who did their jobs under difficult circumstances," she was quoted as saying by the SAPA.

A relieved Motsepe said the critical issue now is to concentrate on identifying what caused the accident and the prevention in future.

Du Toit said investigations would begin from Friday, and the mine, Harmony's third largest one in South Africa, will be closed for six weeks for investigations and repair work.

South African President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday expressed utmost satisfaction with the successful rescue, saying the collective effort demonstrated in the rescue effort was testimony of a true South African spirit.

"Furthermore, the President has asked the Minister (Buyelwa Sonjica) to conduct an audit of all the mines to determine whether they meet health and safety standards as prescribed in law," he said through a statement.

The miners were extracted, about 75 at a time, via a shaft normally used for ventilation and hauling rocks.

They were trapped about 2,200 meters underground on Wednesday morning when a pipe fell into the lift shaft and cut off the power supply to the lift normally used to hoist them out of the mine.

South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) had earlier claimed that the accident was due to negligence.

But the company denied this, saying the mine shaft had been inspected once a week according to mine safety regulations.

Harmony chairman Motsepe, who was waiting for the last miners to be brought up, however said the accident should be a wake up call.

"We have to recommit ourselves to re-focus on safety in this country, our safety record both as a company and an industry leave much to be desired," Motsepe said.

South Africa is the world's largest producer of gold as well as a number of other minerals.

The country's Mine Health and Safety Council reported in September that 199 mineworkers died in accidents, mostly rock falls, last year.

Motsepe committed the mine and the company to cooperate fully with the investigation of the inspector of mines, Thabo Gazi, who was planning to probe the incident. 
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 5, 2007)