AngloGold hoists miners to surface amid quake

[miningmx.com] – ANGLOGOLD Ashanti said it was bringing miners to surface following a 5.3 magnitude earthquake said to have its origin near Orkney in South Africa’s North West province.

“AngloGold Ashanti confirms that an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude occurred near its Vaal River Operations in South Africa, at a depth of roughly 8km,” the company said in a statement today.

It said 17 of its employees at its Great Noligwa and Moab Khotsong mines had sustained “minor injuries”. Power to the Vaal River mines had also been temporarily interrupted, but had since been restored.

There was no information at this stage on the potential impact to production at the mines, said Stewart Bailey, spokesman for AngloGold Ashanti in an e-mailed response to questions.

“The focus is on getting everyone safely to surface at this stage. Following that we’ll do a thorough inspection of all infrastructure and update later as needed,” he said.

“We are in the process of establishing telephonic contact with all mining crews, in line with our safety protocols,” said AngloGold in its statement. It added that engineers were inspecting shaft infrastructure while people were being hoisted to surface.

“All back-up power generators and underground safety systems remain operational. AngloGold Ashanti’s West Wits Operations were not affected,” it said.

The earthquake, which was centered about six kilometres from Orkney, shook buildings in Johannesburg and Pretoria and as far away as KwaZulu-Natal province.