Doornkop mine
Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – All production at gold miner Harmony Gold’s Doornkop mine, west of Johannesburg, has been stopped following a fatality owing to a fall-of-ground incident on Tuesday morning, the company reported, adding that investigations into the accident were under way.
Harmony CEO Graham Briggs and his management team expressed their condolences to the deceased’s families and colleagues during this difficult time.
This death was the seventh fatal incident at Harmony's operations for the year.
Last month, an employee was fatally injured in a fall-of-ground incident at the company’s Masimong mine, near Welkom, while, in April, an employee was fatally injured at the Tshepong mine, near Welkom, after being inundated by ore in a centre raise.
Previously, nine workers died on February 4 after a 2.4 magnitude seismic event triggered a fall-of-ground accident and a subsequent fire some 1 733 m underground at the Doornkop mine. Two days later, the company reported two more fatalities at the North West-based Kusasalethu and the Free State-based Joel mines.
A Harmony employee was also fatally injured in January in a tramming accident at the Masimong mine.