Memorial Service and Day of Mourning to be Held at South Deep
May 04 2008 - 10:36AM
PR Newswire (US)
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gold
Fields Limited ("Gold Fields") (NYSE, JSE, DIFX: GFI) said today
that a Memorial Service would be held at the Twin Shafts complex of
South Deep gold mine, near Westonaria, on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
following the tragic shaft accident on Thursday, May 1, 2008 in
which nine colleagues lost their lives and the fall of ground
accident that occurred on April 29 in which one colleague lost his
life. A letter, signed jointly by the South Deep management and the
trade unions, has been sent to employees on the mine informing them
of the Memorial Service and pointing out that Wednesday May 7, 2008
has been set aside as a Day of Mourning. The Day of Mourning will
commence at the beginning of the night shift on Tuesday May 6,
2008. In the letter, the Head of the Operations, South Deep, Stuart
Allan, the Branch Chairperson of the National Union of Mineworkers
(NUM), Kanetso Matabane and the full-time representative of the
United Associations of South Africa, (UASA) Pieter Nel, inform
employees of their commitment to co-operate with the Department of
Minerals and Energy (DME) in its investigation into the shaft
accident. The DME issued a Section 54 order at 17h40 on May 1, 2008
- the day of the shaft accident - instructing that all winding
operations at South Deep, Kloof and Driefontein Gold Mines be
suspended pending the assessment of the integrity of the winding
ropes. The suspension order was lifted on May 2, 2008 in respect of
all main winders transporting men, material and rocks. In respect
of service winders and elevators, testing is continuing and is
expected to be completed in the week commencing May 5, 2008, upon
which the order, in respect of the service winders and elevators,
is expected to be lifted. These service winders and elevators
remain inoperative pending the lifting of the order. Mining
operations at Kloof and Driefontein have resumed. No mining
operations will take place at South Deep until the Principal
Inspector of Mines (Gauteng Region) has met with management and
unions on Monday May 5, 2008 at 10h30. Contrary to certain media
reports, the Section 54 issued by the DME in respect of South Deep
was fully complied with and, subsequent to the issue thereof, only
essential services for emergency purposes were conducted
underground at South Deep. All underground employees at South Deep
have been advised not to report for duty until the night shift of
Monday, May 5, 2008. Mine management will continue to assist the
bereaved relatives. Gold Fields Limited reiterates its commitment
to assist the DME in its investigation into the tragic accident at
South Deep on May 1, 2008 and to take measures to try and ensure
that no harm comes to any of its employees while at work. The names
of the deceased from the South Deep shaft accident are being
withheld until the bereaved families give permission for the names
to be released. About Gold Fields Gold Fields Limited is one of the
world's largest unhedged producers of gold with attributable
production of more than four million ounces per annum from eight
operating mines in South Africa, Ghana and Australia. A ninth mine,
the Cerro Corona Gold/Copper mine in Peru, is expected to commence
production by mid 2008 at an initial rate of approximately 400,000
gold equivalent ounces per annum. The company has total
attributable ore reserves of 92 million ounces and mineral
resources of 252 million ounces. Gold Fields employs some 53,000
permanent employees across its operations and is listed on the JSE
Limited South Africa (primary listing), the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) and the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX). All
of Gold Fields' operations are ISO14001 certified. For more
information please visit the Gold Fields website at
http://www.goldfields.co.za/. DATASOURCE: Gold Fields Limited
CONTACT: Enquiries: Andrew Davidson, Office +27(0)11-644-2368,
Mobile +27(0)826677203
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