Two AngloGold miners killed in S.Africa rock fall
Source: Reuters
(Adds minister's concern about mining deaths) By James Macharia JOHANNESBURG, July 22 (Reuters) - Two miners were killed after a rock fall deep underground at a mine owned by AngloGold Ashanti Ltd <ANGJ.J>, the world's third-biggest gold producer, a company official said on Sunday. The two miners had been trapped for close to 48 hours at the Moab Khotsong mine in the country's North West province, and their bodies were recovered in the early hours of Sunday, said Steve Lenahan, a spokesman for AngloGold. The accident happened on Friday at dawn some 3 km below the surface in an area where the company was preparing to start mining and was triggered by a minor seismic event, he said. "There was quite a substantial fall of ground, which trapped the two workers. A third person was rescued and is in hospital," Lenahan said. He said the rock fall made rescue efforts difficult as the ground had become dangerous to tread on. South Africa's Department of Minerals and Energy, union officials and the company are probing the cause of the accident, he said. Lenahan said he expected no loss of production, because the area in which the accident took place was not yet being mined, and added there would be no significant delay in preparation for mining to start in the area. Mining giant Anglo American Plc <AAL.L> holds a 41.8 percent stake in South Africa's AngloGold after surrendering control by selling part of its 51 percent holding in April. Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Patience Sonjica expressed concern over the deaths at the mine following a seismic event of 0.7 on the Richter scale in magnitude. "We are very concerned about the lack of improvement where mining-related deaths are concerned, and the department is now going to be much more vigilant in terms of ensuring that we do see this improvement," the department said in a statement. The department said it would hold a meeting in September with representatives of industry and labour to discuss ways in which to decrease seismicity-related accidents in mines.
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