Harmony Gold reports second worker death at South Africa mine in September

Harmony Gold Mining Co., South Africa’s largest gold producer, said Tuesday that a worker died following an underground seismic event at its Mponeng operation, marking the company’s second fatal mining incident in South Africa this month.

The worker died Monday, Sept. 14, in a section of the mine in Gauteng province, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement. The incident came eight days after another underground worker was killed during a seismic tremor on Sunday, Sept. 6, at Harmony’s Moab Khotsong mine near Orkney.

South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has stepped in to lead an inquiry into the Moab Khotsong fatality, and regulators have now been alerted to the fatal accident at Mponeng. 

Mponeng fatal tremor halts gold operations

Harmony withheld the name of the worker who died Monday. The company also declined to provide the magnitude of the tremor or describe the exact conditions underground when the rock shift occurred.

Management halted all mining operations in the immediate section of Mponeng while government inspectors and company engineers examine the site. Beyond that targeted shutdown, Harmony has not disclosed whether overall gold output at the deep-level mine will take a hit.

The back-to-back fatality spotlight the persistent physical hazards of deep-level extraction in South Africa, where crews work kilometers below the surface and shifting rock walls pose daily hazards. Harmony said it is reviewing its safety protocols, expanding staff training, and working alongside labor groups to curb underground hazards, maintaining an official target of zero workplace deaths.

Motsepe-led Harmony Gold doubles net income

Chaired by South African businessman Patrice Motsepe, Harmony runs mining assets across South Africa, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. The company offered condolences to the worker’s family, friends, and coworkers, adding that counseling and support teams are on site.

The workplace deaths arrive alongside sharp revenue gains for the company. For its financial year ended June 30, 2026, Harmony rode high bullion prices and freshly acquired copper operations to lift revenue 34 percent to R99.24 billion ($5.88 billion).

Net income for the period more than doubled to R29.45 billion ($1.85 billion), up 102.45% from R14.55 billion ($912.37 million) the year before. Harmony attributed much of that balance-sheet growth to a 35 percent jump in realized gold prices, which averaged R2.07 million ($129,823) a kilogram, alongside maiden copper proceeds from its newly acquired MAC Copper assets.

The earnings generated record cash that funded higher payouts to investors. Yet the fatal incidents this month ensure that management will face renewed scrutiny from unions and state mining regulators over how much of that capital is actively protecting workers underground.