Sibanye says two workers killed during Kloof shaft inspection

Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW, NYSE: SBSW) announced that two of its employees have been killed while working in one of the shafts at its Kloof operations located near Glenharvie, South Africa.

The incident occurred on Sunday while the workers were conducting a routine inspection of the Kloof 8 shaft, the company said in a statement. During the inspection, the platform carrying the two workers detached from the main winder conveyance and descended uncontrollably down the shaft, resulting in their deaths.

Following the fatalities, Sibanye said it has begun a full investigation into the incident and notified all relevant stakeholders, including organized labour and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.

While the shaft infrastructure did not incur damages, shaft operations have been halted while investigations are ongoing, it added.

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 over 2% on news of the incident, sending the company’s market capitalization down to $8.3 billion in New York.

As of last year, the Kloof operation in South Africa’s Gauteng province accounted for 14% of Sibanye’s total gold output.