28 April 2025

MEDIA RELEASE

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) is outraged and deeply angered by the senseless death of yet another mineworker at Harmony Gold’s Saaiplaas Dam 21 Reclamation Site, Virginia in Welkom, Free State Province.

At approximately 17:40 on 27 April 2025, during reclamation activities, a remote operated water gun became stuck in the mud. While attempting to remove it with an excavator, a general worker was struck by the excavator’s bucket and sustained fatal injuries to his upper body.

Mandatory Code of Practice Section

The Mandatory Code of Practice for Trackless Mobile Machinery requires that machines must be operated only where the operator has full sight, including through cameras if necessary, and that workers must be warned timeously when operating near moving machinery.

This fatality highlights a gross violation of human rights, particularly the right to health and safety at work, as protected by the Constitution. This is particularly sad as it happened on Freedom Day, the day on which we should celebrate our freedom and our constitution.

PDS and Culpable Homicide

The required Proximity Detection System (PDS) should have prevented this incident by activating warning devices for both the operator and the pedestrian when they entered close proximity. The failure to implement and maintain these systems amounts to gross negligence and culpable homicide

Harmony Gold Operations Fatalities for 2025

To date Harmony has killed nine (9) workers in the line of duty, these deaths cannot be considered unexpected. They represent a clear failure to uphold the legal duty to provide a safe working environment.

Closing 

“AMCU once again calls for urgent amendments to the Mine Health and Safety Act, with harsher penalties for mining bosses and managers who expose workers to unsafe conditions”, said AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa. “We call on the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] to prioritise Section 72 reports of MHSA and to prosecute negligent managers and CEOs, as required by section 179(2) of the Constitution”, he said. “Justice must prevail for these fallen workers”, Mathunjwa concluded.

Our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those who lost  their lives.

*ENDS*

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