Moab Khotsong employee was reported missing at the end of the day shift on 02 June. Credit: Matthias Guntrum.

South African gold miner Harmony Gold has reported a fatality at its Moab Khotsong gold mine near Orkney in the North West province of South Africa.

According to the company, the body of an employee was found underground at the facility after an intensive search began following information that an employee was missing at the end of the day shift on 02 June.

Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp said: “We are reinforcing across our operations the key elements of our safety journey – leadership, risk management and attainment of a proactive safety culture.”

Peter committed Harmony’s full support and cooperation for the official investigation into the cause of death of the employee.

In March 2018, Harmony acquired Moab Khotsong from AngloGold Ashanti. The mine was the company’s second largest gold operation in 2019, with a grade of 8.17grams/tonne (g/t).

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This is the third fatality reported by the company so far this year. In January, a mud rush-related fatality was reported at Tshepong and a month later a scraper winch-related incident occurred at Kusasalethu.

Last month, Harmony Gold confirmed that two employees of a contractor working at its Kalgold gold mine tested positive for Covid-19. The Kalgold mine is located near Mafikeng in South Africa’s North West province.

In the same month, the company announced its plans to establish testing facilities at its sites.

In March this year, Harmony Gold said it expected limited gold production during the lockdown in South Africa in the wake of the fast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic.