Four miners were killed on Friday when a surface waste rock conveyor at Sibanye Stillwater’s Burnstone gold mining operation in South Africa collapsed.
According to a statement released by Sibanye, five contractor workers were injured on Thursday while installing a head pulley for the conveyor system. Sibanye is constructing a shallow gold mine near Burnstone, Mpumalanga, which is located 75 kilometers (46.6 miles) east of Johannesburg.
Unfortunately, four people lost their lives, while a fifth was seriously hurt and is now being treated, Sibanye added.
It said a thorough probe had already begun.
The Minerals Council of South Africa said that 11 people have lost their lives in mining-related incidents since the start of the year, down from 13 in the same time period last year.
The number of mining-related fatalities in South Africa dropped to 49 in 2022, down from 74 the year before, according to official data.
