Ekapa Mine faces liquidation while ongoing recovery efforts for 5 trapped miners continue

A Northern Cape-based diamond mine, where five of its workers are trapped underground, has announced it will be closing down.

Ekapa Minerals and Ekapa Resources said it has applied for liquidation, citing a global market downturn coupled with recent events.

Despite the imminent closure, Ekapa said it will continue the search for five of its miners who got trapped in one of its shafts, which was hit by a mudslide last Tuesday.

The company said the workers are now presumed dead, and it's working on recovery operations.

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In a statement releasedon Wednesday, Ekapa Minerals and Ekapa Resources say the diamond industry has experienced unprecedented pressures over the past 18-months.

This includes reduced global demand, the rise of low-cost synthetic diamonds, and tariffs.

Ekapa said it had a plan this year to shift towards the mining of higher-grade kimberlite rocks, particularly at its Du Toitspan shaft.

However, the shaft has now been closed indefinitely after the mudslide last Tuesday, which led to the five miners being trapped under 890-meters of water, rocks, and sand.

It said restoring access to the shaft would take between ten and 18 months and require a significant investment, which it cannot secure under the current financial conditions.