The Nelspruit Magistrates Court in Mpumalanga concluded that the three Lily mine employees who went missing after the collapse of the container in February 2016 are deceased. Magistrate Annemarie van der Merwe declared the trio deceased based on the available evidence presented before court.

Solomon Nyirenda, (37), Yvonne Mnisi (30) and Pretty Winnie Nkambule (22) were trapped underground on 5 February 2016 and their bodies have never been recovered. The recovery was called off a month after the incident over safety concerns. Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said that the decision of the court is pending confirmation of the declaration by the High Court. "The court also found that the cause of the death was the collapse of the container which was covered by rocks and debris which happened on 5 February 2016.It further found that the deaths were brought about by the omission of the mine owners, to do proper assessment as required by the law," she said. 

Van der Merwe found that the police and the Mineral Resources and Energy Department (DMRE) had failed to combat illegal mining in the vicinity which helped caused the collapse which killed Nkambule, Nyirenda and Mnisi. Van De Merwe said that the government departments failed in their constitutional duty. "It is clear from the evidence presented in court that the institutions of the SAPS and DMRE were at the time of the Lily Mine disaster, merely giving lip service to the issue of illegal mining and that they were not effectively addressing the issue. It is therefore found that they had failed at the time to ensure the safety of the three lamp room attendants who had perished in an incident that happened as a result of the activities of illegal miners," said Van der Merwe. She said that the deaths of the employees, whose bodies remained trapped underground were caused by the omission on the part of the employer and mine management to do a proper assessment. "An assessment would have determined the possible hazard the crown pillar might have posed to the structure of the mine," said Van Der Merwe found.