The Lily Mine disaster, which claimed the lives of three mineworkers seven years ago, could have been avoided. Magistrate Annemarie van der Merwe of the Mbombela Magistrates Court today delivered the outcome of an inquest into the deaths. Van der Merwe says the collapse of a shaft at the Barberton mine was due to illegal mining. AMCU’s Krister Janse van Rensburg and spokesperson for the Lily Mine families Harry Mazibuko weigh in on the ruling.