Fatalities at Harmony’s Evander shaft
Johannesburg. Monday, 20 April 2009. Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) regretfully announces that two people were fatally injured at the Evander 9 shaft that forms part of Harmony’s Evander Operations in Mpumalanga on Friday afternoon, after they succumbed to oxygen deficiency while climbing into a travelling way of a discontinued production area. They were part of a team that was installing an electrical cable in a haulage.
Management together with the Department of Minerals and Energy commenced investigations on Friday.
At the time of the incident, no mining was taking place. Repairs to the infrastructure of the shaft were being carried out in preparation for a new mining project.
Harmony’s Chief Executive Officer, Graham Briggs says, “This is truly a tragic incident and we express our sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased and sympathy to those affected by the incident. It is unfortunate that despite our safety initiatives fatalities still occur, which means that we should continue rolling out communication on safety. We have already seen excellent improvements in our safety rates as a result of our safety programmes and can assure all that safety receives priority attention from all stakeholders involved.”
For more details contact:
Graham Briggs
Chief Executive Officer
+27 (0)83 265 0274
Marian van der Walt
Executive: Corporate and Investor Relations
+27 (0)82 888 1242