6 August 2026

SUMMARY: The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has learnt with profound sadness of a fatal rail-bound equipment accident at Village Main Reef (VMR) Kopanang Mine. The Union will participate fully in the official investigation and calls for a thorough review of workplace risk assessments, safe work procedures and the implementation of stronger safety controls to prevent similar tragedies.

AMCU has learnt with deep sadness of another fatal workplace accident involving rail-bound equipment, which claimed the life of a mineworker while he was carrying engineering duties underground at VMR Kopanang Mine close to the towns of Orkney and Klerksdorp in the North West. 

According to preliminary information, on 2 August 2026 at approximately 10:52, a 51-year-old Engineering Assistant sustained fatal injuries while assisting an Electrician to install and tension a straining wire on 53 Level in the main haulage. The one end was attached to the hanging wall and the other end to the lifting lug of a caboose. A locomotive was then used to tension the straining wire. During this process, the deceased was walking alongside the caboose on the designated walkway when the caboose derailed. He became trapped between the caboose and the sidewall and was killed despite the emergency response efforts. 

“AMCU extends its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased during this difficult time. No worker should lose their life while earning a living, and every mining fatality is one too many”, said AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa. 

The Union repeated its clarion call that the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) must be amended to strengthen accountability and ensure that mine bosses who fail in their legal duty to protect workers are held personally accountable for the deaths of mineworkers. Until those responsible face real consequences, preventable fatalities will continue. 

Inspectors have been assigned to conduct an in loco investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Union will participate fully in the investigation process and expects all findings to be addressed and all recommendations to be implemented. 

“We are particularly concerned by the apparent disconnect between written procedures and the realities of the work performed underground”, Mathunjwa said. “Safety procedures and risk assessments must accurately reflect actual workplace practices rather than merely prescribe theoretical controls. If the approved procedure required the use of a chain block to tension the straining wire, but a locomotive was instead used for the task, this deviation should have been identified and addressed during the pre-work risk assessment process”, he elaborated. 

“Appropriate controls should have been developed and implemented before the work commenced. Effective risk management requires continuous verification that work is performed in accordance with approved procedures and that procedures themselves remain practical, suitable, and responsive to operational conditions”, he said. 

“Where a gap exists between prescribed procedures and actual work practices, employers have a duty to review, revise, and enforce safe systems of work before those gaps result in injuries or fatalities”, Mathunjwa concluded. 

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For more information or media interviews, contact AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa.