ANGLOGOLD Ashanti was searching for three employees at its Mponeng mine – one of the world’s deepest – following a seismic event at midday today.
The two-magnitude seismic event resulted in a large fall of ground in a working area some 3.5 kilometres below surface, the company said.
Seven people were affected by the event of which four were rescued with what AngloGold Ashanti described as “non-life-threatening injuries”. There were receiving medical care, the company said.
“An intensive search-and-rescue operation, conducted by trained Proto teams, is currently underway for our remaining three colleagues,” said AngloGold. “An update will be provided as soon as possible. The relevant authorities have been notified.”
Mponeng and another asset, Mine Waste Solutions, has been sold by AngloGold to Harmony Gold. AngloGold said its South African mines couldn’t compete for new capital set against its international portfolio of mines and projects.
This was largely predicated on the difficulty of mining, the depth of operations as well as other operational hazards including regular power interruptions. As a result of the technical challenges, the South African mines are also hazardous.
