Harmony Gold Mining has confirmed that one of its employees died on 6 June at its Kusasalethu operation near Carletonville, Gauteng province – its fifth death in a month.
The miner called the accident an “engineering-related incident” that occurred during the afternoon hours local time, though it did not release further details.
The death was on the same day as a safety day at Kusasalethu, which was held in response to a rise in the number of fatal incidents.
“We are deeply saddened and very concerned by the frequency of incidents, particularly at this mine – it is unacceptable,” CEO Peter Steenkamp said, adding that safety messages were reinforced at the mine during the safety day.
“Everyone, including the unions … emphasised the importance of our safety and accountability values. Our priority at this stage is to support the families, colleagues and friends impacted by this tragedy and to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the reason for yet another incident.”
An investigation has commenced to determine the cause of the incident.
Early last month, Harmony Gold confirmed the deaths of four of its employees after an “infrastructure maintenance-related incident” at the same mine.
Kusasalethu, a deep-level mine, is located near the Gauteng-North West provincial border and has a remaining life of mine estimated at three years.
It employs 4,260, 496 of which are contractors, and produced 3,999 kilograms of gold in fiscal year 2020. Ore mined is treated at the Kusasalethu plant.
Source: Harmony Gold Mining