Company announcements

Fourth rescue team member dies

June 28, 2010

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Johannesburg. Monday, 28 June 2010. Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony) regrets to announce that Mr Josie Randall, a member of the Mines Rescue Services team (proto team) injured in an underground explosion on Thursday, 24 June 2010 at Harmony’s Phakisa Mine near Welkom in the Free State, has died.

This brings to four the number of specialised proto team members who died as a result of the explosion, which occurred while the team were attending to a fire on 66 Level, some 2 013 metres below surface late on Thursday night. A fifth team member is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Harmony’s CEO Graham Briggs said today that, while the cause of the explosion was not yet known, he was extremely concerned to have been informed that, while work was being done to restore ventilation to 66 Level, ‘booby trap’ explosive devices (similar to those made by criminal miners) had been discovered some 900 metres from the accident scene.

Briggs said the company was doing everything in its power to rid its mines of criminal miners, with the full knowledge and assistance of the DMR and the SAPS.

“Measures include the installation of additional security fencing and biometric and security card readers at all shafts, the banning of food being taken underground, and implementation of an amnesty, of which 102 criminal miners took advantage and returned to surface.”

Briggs expressed his personal condolences and those of the company, to the families and colleagues of the proto team members who have died.

“These men were volunteer members of a highly trained, experienced corps of mine rescue workers, extremely knowledgeable about mine safety standards, who risk their lives to save those of others in danger. It is tragic and extraordinary that they have died in these circumstances, and we will spare no efforts to determine the cause.”

Briggs said that: “At this stage of the investigation we simply do not know what happened.”

The full investigation to establish the causes of the accident will continue during the week.

For more details contact:

Marian van der Walt
Executive : Corporate and Investor Relations
Tel: +27 (0)82 888 1242

Corporate Office:
Randfontein Office Park
P O Box 2
Randfontein
South Africa 1760
Tel: +27 (11) 411 2000