Latest news with #Kloof
Fox News
24-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Sibanye workers begin to surface after accident at South African gold mine
Nearly a third of the 260 miners stuck underground following an accident at a Sibanye-Stillwater SSWJ.J gold mine in South Africa were brought to the surface on Friday, the company said, as a senior union official confirmed there had been no injuries. The miners were stuck underground after the hoist system used to access a shaft at the Kloof gold mine - one of Sibanye's deepest, situated about 37 miles west of Johannesburg - was damaged in an accident on Thursday. Sibanye said 79 of the employees had been brought to the surface by 1:30 p.m. local time in the first phase of an operation to extract the miners. "The remaining 181 employees ... have been provided with food and will be hoisted to surface as soon as safety to hoist is confirmed," Sibanye said in a statement. A company spokesperson told Reuters late Friday afternoon that the process was expected to be completed "soon." "Fortunately there were no fatalities or injuries," National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Health and Safety Chairperson Duncan Luvuno told journalists at the site. "But for ... 24 hours people were not eating or drinking anything. This is not adequate. Some have chronic diseases." Journalists were barred by security guards from getting near to the mine shaft, but a Reuters reporter saw some of the miners, looking tired but in good health, walk to the perimeter of the company grounds and board buses. Relatives of those still in the mine, however, expressed shock and worry that their loved ones remained underground. "I haven't slept a wink," said Mamodise Mokone, whose husband was among the miners. "I just want to tell the management or whoever is in charge: I just want my husband out alive." Sibanye earlier said all the workers were safe after what it called a "shaft incident" in the Kloof 7 shaft and were gathered at an assembly point as efforts were launched to bring them out of the mine. Johannesburg-based Sibanye is among only a few South African miners squeezing profits from some of the world's deepest and costliest gold mines. Sibanye is digging for gold at depths of roughly two miles at the Kloof 7 shaft. The Kloof mine, which accounts for 14% of Sibanye's total gold output, also operates two other shafts. The company mines platinum-group metals in South Africa and the United States as well. Mining accidents are not uncommon in South Africa, where many abandoned mines have been taken over by informal diggers. Earlier this year, at least 78 bodies were pulled from an illegal gold mine after police cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to crack down on illegal mining activity.
South China Morning Post
23-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Rescue under way after hundreds of workers trapped in South Africa gold mine
Nearly a third of the 260 miners stuck underground following an accident at a Sibanye-Stillwater gold mine in South Africa were brought to the surface on Friday, the company said, as a senior union official confirmed there had been no injuries. Advertisement The miners were stuck underground after the hoist system used to access a shaft at the Kloof gold mine – one of Sibanye's deepest, situated about 60km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg – was damaged in an accident on Thursday. Sibanye said 79 of the employees had been brought to the surface by 1.30pm in the first phase of an operation to extract the miners. 'The remaining 181 employees … have been provided with food and will be hoisted to surface as soon as safety to hoist is confirmed,' Sibanye said in a statement. A company spokesperson said late Friday afternoon that the process was expected to be completed 'soon'. Advertisement 'Fortunately there were no fatalities or injuries,' National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Health and Safety Chairperson Duncan Luvuno told journalists at the site. 'But for … 24 hours people were not eating or drinking anything. This is not adequate. Some have chronic diseases.'
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Rescue bid launched for hundreds trapped in South African gold mine
Rescue efforts were under way in South Africa on Friday as more than 200 miners were trapped at a gold mine for a second day. Mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said on Thursday that the miners were trapped after what it referred to as a 'shaft incident' at the Kloof gold mine, one of the company's deepest. It said that all the workers were safe and gathered at an assembly point where they had been provided with food as efforts were being made to get them out. 'It was decided that employees should remain at the sub-shaft station until it is safe to proceed to the surface,' the company said. The total number of workers trapped was not immediately clear. News agencies reported that 260 people were trapped, while a company spokesperson said 289 miners were in the shaft. The National Union of Mineworkers, representing the workers at the Kloof mine, said they had been trapped for more than 24 hours as Sibanye-Stillwater continued pushing back its estimated time to retrieve the workers. 'We are very concerned because the mine did not even make this incident public until we reported it to the media,' said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu. The mine, located 60km (37 miles) west of Johannesburg, is among a few collecting from some of the world's deepest gold deposits.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Rescue efforts underway for 260 workers trapped in a South African gold mine
JOHANNESBURG: Rescue efforts are underway in South Africa to bring 260 workers trapped in a gold mine for a day back to the surface, the Sibanye Stillwater mining company said on Friday. According to the company, an initial investigation showed that a sub-shaft rock winder skip door opened at the loading point and caused some damage to the mineshaft at the Kloof mine, west of Johannesburg. 'Following a detailed risk assessment, it was decided that employees should remain at the sub-shaft station until it is safe to proceed to the surface, in order to avoid walking long distances at this time,' the company said in a statement. The National Union of Mineworkers, which represents workers at the Kloof mine, said the miners have been trapped for almost 24 hours, with the company repeatedly changing the estimated time for them to return to the surface. 'We are very concerned because the mine did not even make this incident public until we reported it to the media,' said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu. The company said all miners were accounted for and safe, adding that it expected to hoist them back to the surface on Friday.
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Rescue efforts underway for 260 workers trapped in a South African gold mine
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Rescue efforts are underway in South Africa to bring 260 workers trapped in a gold mine for a day back to the surface, the Sibanye Stillwater mining company said on Friday. According to the company, an initial investigation showed that a sub-shaft rock winder skip door opened at the loading point and caused some damage to the mineshaft at the Kloof mine, west of Johannesburg. 'Following a detailed risk assessment, it was decided that employees should remain at the sub-shaft station until it is safe to proceed to the surface, in order to avoid walking long distances at this time,' the company said in a statement. The National Union of Mineworkers, which represents workers at the Kloof mine, said the miners have been trapped for almost 24 hours, with the company repeatedly changing the estimated time for them to return to the surface. 'We are very concerned because the mine did not even make this incident public until we reported it to the media,' said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu. The company said all miners were accounted for and safe, adding that it expected to hoist them back to the surface on Friday.
