Sibanye keeps workers safe during underground fire incident at Kroondal
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has expressed concern around an incident that happened at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kroondal mine, in Rustenburg, on Monday, which required 378 mineworkers being kept underground for safety reasons.
Sibanye on Tuesday confirmed to Mining Weekly that a UV 72 machine – a mechanised machine used to transport workers and materials underground – had caught fire on Monday morning and that the workers had to be kept in underground refuge bays until it was deemed safe to exit.
Investor relations head James Wellsted explained that the company was not sure why the machine caught alight, but said the incident was being investigated by the company and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, before mining activities resumed.
He said the fire had been fully extinguished, the mine had been ventilated and all workers were brought up to surface by Monday evening. No one was injured.
The NUM questioned why there had not been a “Plan B” in terms of escape routes for the mineworkers.
Wellsted pointed out, however, that the mine did have a second escape-way, but that it was not the most suitable option to use in this instance.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation