Rand Refinery speak out about alleged explosion

It was claimed that, on Thursday, November 13, there was an explosion and fire at Rand Refinery.

The GCN were alerted to the incident by Norman Wallis, managing director of SA Cotton Waste, one of the companies neighbouring Rand Refinery.

Wallis explained that there had been, yet another, explosion and fire at the plant.

He told a GCN journalist how smoke had filled the air after the explosion making it impossible to work.

“Seems we are left off the emergency warning list by Rand Refinery as we had to evacuate our premises again,” said Wallis.

“This is becoming an intolerable nuisance as it has happened three times in the last 12 months.

“Nausea, headaches, coughs, sinus problems and burning eyes are just some of the issues plaguing the workers in this area.

“It seems useless to carry on reporting to the metro as they still haven’t done anything.

“As with all the previous incidents we have suffered, and feel sure of two things – nothing will be done and it will happen again,” concluded Wallis.

Rand Refinery, located in Refinery Road, in Germiston, is the largest integrated single-site precious metals refining and smelting complex in the world.

The GCN approached Rand Refinery to get an official comment on the claim.

A list of questions was sent to Rand Refinery’s corporate communications department:

•  Is it true there was an explosion and/or fire at Rand Refinery this morning? If so what time did the incident take place?
•  What was the cause of the incident?
•  We have reports that a precious metal was spilt? If true, what metal was spilt?
•  What methods were used to bring the incident under control?
•  Were emergency services called to the scene?
•  We have reports that this is the second incident of this nature in this year (2014), is this true?
•  If true what steps is Rand Refinery taking to prevent incidents such as these from happening in the near future?
•  Was anyone injured in today’s incident?
•  How long did it take to get today’s scene under control?

Rand Refinery’s Interim Chief Executive, Mark Lynam, released the following statement, “During routine maintenance in the smelter at Rand Refinery on Thursday, a problem with the Arc Furnace occurred with molten metal escaping from the vessel onto the floor of the smelter area.

“The molten metal caused the communication and control wires to the extraction system to burn through, resulting in fumes escaping directly to the atmosphere.

“In line with our standard procedures, Rand Refinery notified all our neighbours of the occurrence.

“The Rand Refinery emergency team brought the situation under control.

“The Ekurhuleni Emergency Department were notified and also responded.

“There were no injuries.

“A full investigation into the occurrence will be undertaken and corrective actions will be taken as required.

“Rand Refinery continues to remain committed to the safety of our employees, as well as our neighbours.”

William Ntladi, media liaison officer for the Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services, confirmed there had been an incident at Rand Refinery but that the incident had been brought under control before a team arrived on site.

The metro was also contacted but at the time of going to press had yet to reply to queries.