Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW, NYSE: SBSW) said it halted a shaft at its Kloof gold operations in South Africa to probe how two of its employees died during a routine inspection.
The incident occurred on Sunday at the Kloof 8 shaft, the company said in a statement. A platform carrying the two workers detached from the main winder conveyance and plummeted uncontrollably down the shaft, the miner said.
Sibanye said it has begun a full investigation into the incident and notified all relevant stakeholders, including labour unions and the country’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. The shaft wasn’t damaged, the company said.
As of last year, the Kloof operation 50 km southwest of Johannesburg accounted for 14% of Sibanye’s total gold output.
Deep mine
The incident adds to a series of tragedies involving the ultra-deep mine over the years. Two separate incidents in 2018 and 2021 claimed the lives of five and two workers, respectively.
Last year, as many as 289 workers were trapped underground for several hours before being rescued.
Shares of Sibanye Stillwater fell 2.6% to $11.76 apiece on Monday in New York as wider markets also declined, sending the company’s market capitalization down to $8.18 billion.
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