The 51-year-old development crew member was underground and had climbed onto a mechanical loader before he died. The exact cause of the accident is not yet known. This is the eleventh fatality since 2016 at a Harmony mine. Ten of these deaths took place in the Free State at their Phakisa, Bambanani, Target, and Central Plant mines, among others. The causes of death in the past were related to falls of ground, construction, and rail-related incidents. However, no other fatalities in the latest incident were reported. According to the spokesperson, Max Manoeli, all work in the area of the accident has been stopped…

Harmony regrets that one of its employees was fatally injured at its Tshepong mine and expressed their condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased,  Manoeli said. “What exactly happened is currently being investigated. We anticipate that it will be quite quick because normally the DMR (Department of Mineral Resources) needs to come in and conduct the investigation,” explained Manoeli.

OFM News reported that a worker died while he was doing routine maintenance work at Target mine, also near Welkom, last year. According to the National Union of Mineworkers’ Livhuwane Mamburu, the number of deaths in the mining industry was caused by profits taking precedence over the safety of workers. “As the National Union of Mineworkers, we are very worried about the deaths that we see in the mining industry. We would like to see a situation where there are zero deaths. The problem is that employers are focusing on profits and do not care about the health and safety of mine workers in South Africa,” explained Mamburu.

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