The collapse of a platform at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof gold mine saw two contractor employees fall to their deaths on Sunday, prompting an official investigation and halting operations at the Kloof 8 shaft.
The two victims were contractors, said Sibanye. They died after an inspection platform unexpectedly came loose from the shaft conveyance, crashing down the shaft, which is located near Glenharvie in Gauteng, about 60km west of Johannesburg.
In a statement on Monday, Sibanye said the incident had occurred during preparation for a routine, scheduled shaft inspection. It said the victims’ families and colleagues were receiving counselling and that the families were being provided support.
The nearly 60-year-old Kloof gold mine has been the subject of scrutiny in recent months. Last year Sibanye cut off certain mining areas at the operations amid safety concerns, resulting in a slump in gold production.
The group’s results for the six months to end-December reflected “seismicity and infrastructure constraints” which weighed down the Kloof operation, resulting in a 10% slip in overall output.
“A full investigation into the circumstances of the incident is under way, and in line with regulatory requirements, all relevant stakeholders, including organised labour and the department of mineral and petroleum resources, have been notified,” said Sibanye.
“This tragic incident did not cause damage to the shaft infrastructure; however, shaft operation has been halted while investigations are ongoing.”
This is the second fatal incident reported at Sibanye’s gold operations this year. In March, the group said an employee died in a tramming incident at its Driefontein gold mine in Carletonville on the West Rand.
An investigation last year into the deaths of two workers at Sibanye’s gold operations in 2020 found the miner guilty of negligence, attributing the incidents to a “shift boss” who ignored safety warnings.
Business Day reported that a labour court found that the fatalities could have been prevented had an operations supervisor followed the group’s safety protocols.
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