HARMONY Gold said a miner was killed at its Doornkop mine west of Johannesburg during a mine-related material car incident on March 11.
“Harmony continues its focus on embedding its risk management practice to create a more engaged and proactive safety culture,” said Peter Steenkamp, CEO of Harmony Gold on Monday. “The inclusion and involvement of all Harmony stakeholders in all aspects of safety demonstrates a unified commitment to prevent accidents through our ongoing humanistic transformation safety journey,” he said.
Harmony announced on February 28 that it would shut its Bambanani gold mine in the Free State 18 months early because it was no longer able to operate the mine in line with its safety protocols. The move comes amid growing concern over the increase in mine fatalities at South African mines in the past two years.
Harmony reported seven fatalities in the six months ended December which played a major factor in disappointing numbers announced for the period.
But annually, there has been a deterioration across the board.
As of end-October, the number of fatalities at the country’s mines stood at 55 compared to 43 at the same time last year. “This is the second year of regression in the safety performance since the 2019 record low of 51 fatalities,” the Minerals Council South Africa said in a statement at the time.
