Anglo shuts coal mine after death

Johannesburg - Anglo American Plc's South African coal unit said on Tuesday it had shut a coal mine for one day after a worker died at the facility, but could not immediately quantify the lost output.

Anglo's Johannesburg-based spokesperson, Pranill Ramchander, confirmed reports by the Solidarity trade union that the worker died in hospital after being hit by a vehicle on Monday at Anglo's Goedehoop coal mine in Witbank, east of Johannesburg.

The department of minerals and energy (DME) and the mine's management were conducting investigations into the cause of the accident, Ramchander and the union said.

"I can confirm we had a fatality," Ramchander said. "We had to shut the mine down today (Tuesday), but we will resume production tomorrow. I can't immediately quantify how much output is likely to be lost."

Coal is ranked as the third most dangerous mining sector in South Africa after gold and platinum, Solidarity said, quoting figures supplied by the DME.

The DME has been routinely closing down mines on a temporary basis after a fatality, to put pressure on mining companies to improve safety.

A recent report showed that mines in South Africa, the world's top source of platinum and a major producer of gold, have a "disappointing" level of safety compliance.

The long-awaited safety audit on 355 mines nationwide revealed that mine safety compliance was at 66%, and the country's parliament has made amendments to laws that govern mines to introduce stricter safety measures and bigger fines to negligent mine managers. The amendments are yet to be signed into law.

- Reuters