Cable theft traps workers underground
Workers at Blyvoor Gold were trapped underground on Tuesday morning due to cable theft.
Cable thieves struck the Carmel substation between the R501 and Deelkraal in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The situation led to Blyvoor Gold Mine, among other places, being affected. Blyvoor Gold still mines the old Blyvooruitzicht 5 Shaft.
According to the general manager, Mr Louis Lamsley, the problem was sorted out within hours.
“We didn’t let the day shift go down, and the mine was cleared by 09:00,” he says. According to Lamsley, “fewer than 200 workers” were underground when disaster struck. Fortunately, the mine has diesel reserves to generate backup electricity should the need arise. Lamsley noted that although the Canada-based gold-focused streaming and royalty company, Sandstorm Gold Ltd, indicates on its site that Blyvoor Gold forms part of its assets, this is not the case anymore.
