Global miner Sibanye-Stillwater has confirmed that an employee died following a tramming incident at its Driefontein gold mine, in Carletonville on the West Rand, earlier this week.

This follows after the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) on March 12 bemoaned the number of deaths in South Africa’s mining industry this year.

The union said a loco was tramming towards the 48 level west internal tip at the Hlanganani shaft when it abruptly came to the stop. After a period, a loco guard went to investigate and found that the loco had driven into a backfill pipe.

The pipe pushed against the screen of the loco cab, pinning the driver inside. The driver was declared deceased underground, the union explained.

AMCU pointed out that this marked the twelfth fatality reported in the mining sector this year, a considerable increase from the five fatalities recorded during the same period last year.

“Despite the industry’s self-congratulatory reports of a 24% reduction in fatalities in 2024, with 42 deaths compared to 55 in 2023, these numbers are cold comfort to the families and communities who continue to lose their loved ones to corporate negligence,” it stated.

“The safety and health of our employees is our first priority, and we are managing the situation with relevant stakeholders and will investigate the circumstances and will ensure that appropriate measures are taken to prevent incidents of this nature occurring in future,” Sibanye-Stillwater investor relations and corporate affairs executive VP James Wellsted said in a statement to Mining Weekly.

“This is a deeply distressing incident and we extend our condolences to the family, friends and associates of our colleague. We will ensure that support, including counselling, is provided to the family,” he added.

This marks another death in the country’s gold mining sector. Last month, Mining Weekly reported the loss of life of five mineworkers at Harmony Gold Mining Company’s Doornkop and Joel mines; as well as the loss of life of three mineworkers in a separate fall-of-ground incident at Joel.