JOHANNESBURG, June (ANA) - Sibanye-Stillwater said on Friday that operations would remain suspended at its Kloof Ikamva shaft near Westonaria, south-west of Johannesburg, where five workers died, adding that a memorial service for the deceased miners was likely to take place next week.
"The Ikamva mine has not resumed operations yet. It will follow a process to resume the mine, one of which is commencing with a safety shift to ensure all working areas are safe to start production," Henrika Ninham, Sibanye's investor relations manager said.
"The memorial service date has not been confirmed with stakeholders yet but it is likely to take place next week."
Five workers entered an abandoned shaft with poor ventilation early on Monday and died from gas and heat exposure.
This is the seventh accident leading to fatalities at the Sibanye-Stillwater operations, making the company the biggest contributor to fatalities in the sector since the beginning of the year.
Kloof mine is a shallow to ultra-deep level gold mine consisting of five producing shaft complexes that mine open hound and pillars with the deepest operating level some 3,347 meters below the surface.
Minister of mineral resources Gwede Mantashe condemned the accident, saying that it was every employer's responsibility to provide safe working spaces for their employees. The department is conducting an investigation into the incident.
- African News Agency (ANA)
