Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The bodies of the last two miners unaccounted for at a mine operated by South Africa’s Harmony Gold were recovered on Thursday, the company said, bringing the death toll to five after a tremor shook the shafts last week.
Friday’s seismic event that rocked the Kusasalethu mine, one of the world’s deepest, with gold extracted at depths below 3 kilometres (1.8 miles), highlights the dangers of mining in South Africa’s challenging geology.
“All of the employees who were trapped underground, are now accounted for,” the company said in a statement.
South Africa is home to the world’s deepest mines where workers operate at depths of up to 4 kilometres. The industry has made efforts to improve safety and the number of miners killed hit a record low of 73 registered last year, compared with 77 in 2015.
Kusasalethu, located 90 kilometres west of Johannesburg, has had a troubled history and been a flash point for labour violence and strikes in recent years, threatening its viability and underlining the social risks of mining in South Africa. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Susan Fenton
