TORONTO (miningweekly.com) - Three people have been confirmed dead after a rock fall at the Bulyanhulu gold mine, in Tanzania, owned by African Barrick Gold.

A mine rescue team was sent in immediately after the accident on Tuesday and worked around the clock in the hopes of rescuing trapped miners, but their efforts were unsuccessful, the company said on Wednesday.

Operations at the mine were suspended on Tuesday, and will remain halted on Thursday for a peiod of mourning, but should be "fully restored thereafter", Barrick said in a statement on its website.

"The area of the rock fall will remain closed until the incident has been investigated, the cause understood and any appropriate action taken," the firm said,

A team of senior investigators from Barrick Gold will launch a detailed investigation of the accident.

Toronto-based Barrick, the world's biggest gold miner, announced plans last month to spin out its African assets, including Bulyanhulu, into a new London-listed company called African Barrick Gold.

Barrick said it would sell about 25% of African Barrick in an initial public offering, and would retain the other 75%.

The Tanzanian assets produced around 10% of Barrick's total gold output in 2009.

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