Govt calls for safety first at quake-hit mines

[miningmx.com] – THE South African government has urged the country’s mining companies to secure the safety of employees in the wake of a earthquake that measured 5.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.

“The affected companies must ensure that there are no employees still trapped underground,’ said David Msiza, chief inspector of mines in a statement today. He also said mining firms should inspect conditions underground.

The earthquake, the reverberations of which were felt as far afield as KwaZulu-Natal province, had its epicentre within 6km of the mining town of Orkney in South Africa’s North West province.

Mining companies responded almost immediately with AngloGold Ashanti saying it had started the process of hoisting employees to safety at its Vaal River mines which include Great Noligwa and Moab Khotsong.

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

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.

Village Main Reef (VMR), a mining investment company that owns the Tau Lekoa mine and Buffels Gold Mine, both in the Orkney region, said there had been no reports of immediate damage or injuries.

“We are, however, taking the necessary precautionary measures, including evacuating employees from underground,” said Ferdi Dippenaar, CEO of VMR.

“Inspections will take place on a level by level basis, to determine if there is any damage and to ascertain that the workings are safe before production resumes,” Dippenaar said.