Five employees of Harmony Gold’s mines have died in two separate incidents, the miner said on Wednesday.
Two employees lost their lives after a mining incident on Tuesday morning at Doornkop Mine in Soweto, Harmony said in a statement. All blasting operations have been temporarily suspended at the mine.
In a separate incident, three employees succumbed to their injuries after a severe fall of ground incident at Joel Mine, near Theunissen in Free State.
“The causes of these two unrelated incidents are currently under investigation, both internally and by the regulator. The relevant authorities have been kept fully apprised of the incidents,” it said.
Investigations into the causes of these incidents will be led by the department of mineral and petroleum resources, supported by labour representatives and mine management at each operation.
“We are devastated by the news of these tragic incidents. The safety and wellbeing of our employees is our first priority, and the loss of lives of our colleagues is deeply saddening,” the company said.
“We are doing all we can to prevent safety incidents through embedded and proactive risk management practices alongside our humanistic safety culture transformation journey,” said CEO Beyers Nel.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to their families, colleagues and friends and will provide our full support to the families of the deceased during this challenging time,” he said.
Statistics released by mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe last month showed SA mining recorded the lowest number of fatalities in the sector’s history last year.
The mining sector reported 42 deaths in 2024, a 24% year-on-year decline from the previous year and a record low. The previous record was 49 fatalities in 2022.
Mantashe had expressed optimism and pride over the figures, saying the government was encouraged as mining sector efforts continued to show a sustainable downward trend in occupational diseases, injuries and fatalities.
With Jacob Webster
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