By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A Gold Fields employee died in an underground accident at its South Deep mine in Westonaria on January 2, the company said on Thursday.
The accident involved self-propelled mining equipment, Gold Fields’ statement said.
Mining activities at South Deep, which is located west of Johannesburg, had been suspended while an investigation into the incident by Government’s Department of Mineral Resources, unions and management was carried out, the firm said.
At least 54 workers died in mining-related accidents in South Africa last year, up from 49 fatalities recorded in 2022, the country’s safest year on record.
Mike Fraser takes the reins at Gold Fields from interim CEO Martin Preece who ran the company following the resignation of Chris Griffith in November 2022.
In addition to today’s safety incident, Fraser has to ensure that the Salares Norte project in Chile in commissioned without any more hiccups. Gold Fields said in December it had ordered a review of the project following a further delay until April.
Earlier in December, Gold Fields also announced that it would sell its 45% stake in Ghana mine Asanko to joint venture partner Galiano Gold, a Toronto-listed firm, for $170m.
Gold Fields is waiting on the approval of the Ghana government before finalising an earlier deal – a joint venture merging its Tarkwa mine with Iduapriem, a neighbouring mine owned by AngloGold Ashanti. The joint venture proposal, unfurled by the two companies in March, would create Africa’s largest gold mine, they said.
It is envisaged that Ghana’s government will take a 10% stake in the joint venture diluting Gold Fields and AngloGold to 60% and 30% respectively. However, approval for the joint venture has not yet been forthcoming.