300 trapped at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof gold mine

ABOUT 300 miners remain trapped more than three kilometres underground at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof mine west of Johannesburg, reported Daily Maverick on Friday.The publication said miners were trapped after equipment failure caused debris to damage the shaft, preventing their return to the surface.The incident occurred on Thursday at Kloof’s Shaft 7 when the door of a conveyance system used to transport ore malfunctioned, spilling debris that damaged the shaft infrastructure, said Daily Maverick.No injuries have been reported, and all miners are confirmed safe and accounted for, the Daily Maverick added.“We can confirm that we had an incident at Kloof 7 shaft and are busy with making safety and shaft exam procedures, whereafter we will then hoist the employees out to surface,” Sibanye-Stillwater said in a statement. The company expects the situation to be resolved by midday Friday.The ultra-deep Witwatersrand gold operation presents unique challenges, with the extreme depth of over 3 kilometers significantly complicating rescue efforts. Chief Inspector of Mines David Msiza emphasised the need for caution, stating that Sibanye must “make the shaft safe before they can take the people out.”Mining company officials said they are keeping the workers at underground stations rather than having them walk long distances, and are providing food while safety inspections are completed. Search and rescue teams in Gauteng have been placed on alert as a precautionary measure.“We are angry that Sibanye-Stillwater has tried to hide the fact that 300 workers are trapped underground without food,” NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu told Daily Maverick.The post 300 trapped at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kloof gold mine appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com