- Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) has completed a rescue operation at its Platreef Project in South Africa following a fatal incident earlier this week
- The company reported on Monday that a kibble bucket had fallen, landing on a platform where four employees had been working
- One employee was airlifted to hospital, while two others died with the fourth unaccounted for
- The company is now looking into the cause of the incident with a view to ensuring a similar event will not occur in the future
- Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) is currently up 1.99 per cent to C$5.90 per share ta 11:03am EDT
Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) has completed a rescue operation at its Platreef Project in South Africa following a fatal incident earlier this week.
The mining giant reported on Monday that a kibble bucket had fallen down Shaft 1 of the project, striking the northern side of a platform where four employees had been working on routine water pumping activities.
One of the employees was immediately airlifted to hospital in Johannesburg where he is expected to make a full recovery. However, two other miners lost their lives, with a fourth unaccounted for.
It took a number of days for the two deceased workers to be recovered, with dangerous underground conditions hindering rescue operations.
On September 18, the operation was successfully completed, which also recovered the missing worker, adding a third case to the death toll.
Marna Cloete, President and CFO of Ivanhoe Mines, along with member’s of Ivanplats’ senior management team, a subsidiary of Ivanhoe which operates the Platreef Project, met with the families of the deceased to express their condolences.
“We are all terribly saddened by this tragic accident. Our immediate focus is to support the families, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.
“The safety and well-being of our employees is our top-most priority and we will work closely with the authorities to investigate this accident fully,” she added.
The Ivanplats team, in collaboration with industry specialists, are now assessing the shaft to determine extent of damage and the possible cause of the accident, which is thought to have been the result of a sheared cable that held the bucket.
Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) is currently up 1.99 per cent to C$5.90 per share ta 11:03am EDT.
