A violent storm knocked out the mine’s electricity supply on Wednesday, trapping more than 900 miners underground at the Beatrix gold mine, located in the city of Theunissen in the Free State.
Angry family members gathered near the mine to hear news of their relatives who spent more than a full day underground.
Spokesman for managing company Sibanye-Stillwater, James Wellsted, said: “Everyone is accounted, they are safe, in a safe place and we are providing food and water.”
He added that the miners stayed close to the shaft to ensure they were in a well-ventilated area with access to food and water being delivered.
Mr Wellsted continued: “We kept them there, rather than trying to use a secondary escape way, which would have entailed a four-hour walk.”
On Thursday, South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) said it was “extremely concerned” about the situation.
The organisation said in a statement: “The Union questions the lack of contingency plans in place to deal with this type of incident.”
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) called on workers to refuse to work in “dangerous conditions”.
They said in a statement: “Major multinational corporations like Sibanye-Stillwater which should be industry leaders in creating a safety culture are doing far too little to prevent accidents.”
The Union’s national spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said: “The mine workers were rescued at around 06:30 this morning.
“They are currently getting medical check-ups. No injuries were sustained – they are just exhausted.”
Mr Welsted also confirmed there were no serious injuries but some people were dehydrated, a few with high blood pressure and 16 older employees needed drips.
The workers have also been offered counselling for themselves and their families.
The miners were stuck as they waited for power to be restored, which enables lifts to take them to the top.
Mr Wellsted said the mine has 23 levels, going down to about 1,000m (3,280ft) underground.
One cable was restored on Thursday and 272 were rescued.
But 955 remained trapped by early evening, according to the company.
Last August, five mineworkers died after sections of a gold mine collapsed outside Johannesburg.
South Africa has rich mineral reserves and some of the world’s deepest gold mines.
Gold was the backbone of the South African economy for decades but production has declined sharply because of depletion of reserves.