Memorial service to be held as operations resume at Sibanye mine

A memorial service will be held at the Sibanye-Stillwater mine where seven workers died last week‚ the company said on Monday.

The company had reported on Thursday that 13 workers had been trapped underground after three seismic events at the Driefontein shaft of its Masakhane mine‚ close to Carletonville.

Thursday has been declared a day of mourning at Driefontein‚ which will coincide with a memorial service. Employees will also observe a day of mourning on Friday. Funeral services will be held on Saturday. Operations at Driefontein resumed on Saturday.

Sibanye-Stillwater said on Monday that six miners were recovering in hospital and were in a stable condition.

"It is with much sadness and regret‚ however‚ that the Board and management of Sibanye-Stillwater confirms that seven of the 13 employees who were retrieved‚ passed away from injuries sustained during the incident‚" the company said in a statement.

"The families of all of the employees have been contacted and assisted with transport to the mine‚ and have been receiving necessary support and counselling‚ which will be ongoing.

"The Board and management of Sibanye-Stillwater wishes to extend their sincere condolences to the families‚ friends and colleagues of the affected employees and all others impacted by this disaster."

CEO Neal Froneman added: "Our deep level mining layouts and support systems are designed to cater for this level of seismicity and I assure you we will‚ together with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and other stakeholders‚ be conducting a comprehensive investigation into this incident‚ in order to establish the cause of the incident and what actions need to be taken‚ to ensure this never happens again.

The health and safety of our people is paramount and we remain committed to taking any actions necessary‚ which will support our quest for zero harm in the workplace."