JSE-listed Harmony Gold Mining Company has confirmed two separate loss-of-life incidents at its Doornkop and Joel mines, on February 4, which resulted in five mineworkers losing their lives.

Two employees lost their lives following a mining incident at a development end at the Doornkop mine, in Soweto, Gauteng.

All blasting operations at the mine have been temporarily suspended while investigations into the incident are under way.

In a separate statement, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) says four mineworkers were also seriously injured in this incident. Harmony Gold was unable to confirm this figure to Mining Weekly.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, three employees succumbed to their injuries following a severe fall-of-ground (FoG) incident at the Joel mine, near Theunissen, in the Free State.

The causes of these two unrelated incidents are currently under investigation, both internally and by the regulator.

The relevant authorities have been kept fully apprised of the incidents, Harmony says.

Investigations into the causes of these incidents will be led by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), supported by labour representatives and mine management at each operation, the company states.

“We are devastated by the news of these tragic incidents. The safety and wellbeing of our employees is our first priority and the loss of lives of our colleagues is deeply saddening. We extend our heartfelt condolences to their families, colleagues and friends and will provide our full support to the families of the deceased during this challenging time,” Harmony CEO Beyers Nel says.

“We are doing all we can to prevent safety incidents through embedded and proactive risk management practices alongside our humanistic safety culture transformation journey,” he adds.

Amcu, however, says Harmony Gold’s safety record remains a concern.

In May 2024, a rock drill operator lost his life following a FoG incident at the Doornkop mine. This followed another fatality at Harmony’s Mponeng mine just a day earlier, it points out.

Moreover, during the first half of 2021, Harmony Gold recorded eight fatalities, while six were recorded in the first half of 2022, the union points out.

Amcu called on the DMRE to hold mining companies accountable.

These fatalities come soon after the DMRE revealed that fatalities in South Africa’s mining industry had reached a record low of 42 in 2024, compared with the 55 fatalities recorded in 2023 and the 45 reported for 2022.

Mining Weekly on January 23 quoted Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe as reporting that the industry had made progress in reducing the number of fatalities from FoG incidents, from 15 in 2023 to 13 last year.

Only six FoG-related fatalities were recorded in 2022, and the industry has expressed its commitment in recent years to eliminate all mine fatalities, including FoG-related fatalities.

Mining Weekly reported in May 2024 that the industry was investing R46-million in an action plan to eliminate FoG fatalities.