‘AngloGold Ashanti shuts South African mine after 164 workers test positive for COVID-19’ 24 May 2020

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. has reported 164 cases of the novel coronavirus among its workers at a gold mine in South Africa, raising new questions about how to prevent the virus from spreading in deep underground mines. The cases were discovered at Mponeng, the world’s deepest mine, where operations extend as far as four kilometres beneath the Earth’s surface. In response, the company has temporarily closed the mine and begun tracing the contacts of those who tested positive, using an electronic tracking system. It says the “vast majority” of those who tested positive are showing no symptoms of illness.

About 450,000 people are employed in South Africa’s mining sector. The country is among the world’s biggest producers of gold and platinum. To help protect workers from the virus that causes COVID-19, South Africa’s underground mines were limited to 50 per cent of normal capacity when they were allowed to reopen in mid-April after the first phase of the country’s lockdown. But many mining companies have been pushing for a full reopening, saying they cannot be profitable at half-capacity.