Statement by the Department of Mineral Resources on Harmony incident
The department has noted with sadness that eight bodies were recovered at Harmony’s Doornkop Gold Mine following a fall of ground incident which caused a fire and trapped workers underground. One missing worker had still not been found at the time of issuing the statement.
“The situation is deeply regrettable. The health and safety of workers is of paramount importance to us as the Regulator of this sector. We must ensure that we do all we can to get to the bottom of what caused this incident, in order to prevent similar occurrences in future,” Mineral Resources Minister Ms Susan Shabangu said.
The department’s Chief Inspector of Mines, who has been on site with a team of health and safety inspectors since the incident occurred, has indicated that once the last missing worker has been found, the search and rescue time will need to ensure the fire has been properly extinguished, then an in loco inspection can be conducted.
The results of this inspection will determine what further steps will be taken by the department. The department will continue to provide updates as they become available.
For enquiries:
Ayanda Shezi
Cell: 079 880 2059
E-mail: Ayanda.shezi@dmr.gov.za
