VZCZCXRO8236
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #3534 2781613
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051613Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2176
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0181
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0555
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1325
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0676
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0510
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1180
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0180
RUCPDC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS PRETORIA 003534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID 
STATE PLEASE PASS USGS 
STATE FOR AF/S, EEB/ESC, EEB CBA 
DOE FOR SPERL, PERSON 
DOC FOR ITA/DIEMOND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EMIN ENRG EINV EIND ETRD SF
SUBJECT: MINE MISHAP OVERCOME, BUT SAFETY STILL A CHRONIC 
ISSUE 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  On October 4, South African Harmony's Elandsrand 
mine rescued 3,200 workers who had been trapped underground 
for 48 hours.  While the workers were not in great danger, 
the dramatic rescue, filmed in the international media, 
high-lighted growing concerns about mine safety as high 
commodity prices lure mining companies to mine deeper and 
reopen old mines.  The SAG called for a mining industry-wide 
assessment of safety risk.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  On October 3, a 15-meter compressed air pipe broke off 
and fell to the bottom of the main shaft at South African 
Harmony Gold Mining Company's Elandsrand mine, severing 
electrical connections and trapping 3,200 workers for 48 
hours two kilometers underground.  By reconfiguring a reserve 
ventilator and equipment shaft, Harmony was able to rescue 
all the workers by the night of October 4.  Safety 
regulations require mines to have a second shaft for this 
kind of emergency.  National Union of Mineworker 
representatives called this a "wake-up call" for mine safety 
and announced consideration of an industry-wide strike.  The 
SAG closed the Elandsrand mine pending an investigation and 
called for a mining industry-wide assessment of safety risk. 
 
¶3.  COMMENT:  Industry observers stated that the workers were 
never seriously at risk, but the incident dramaticized 
concerns about mine safety in South Africa.  South Africa 
reported over 200 fatalities last year, compared to 67 in the 
U.S.  Four workers were killed in a rock fall at one of 
AngloGold Ashanti's mines earlier in the week.  Harmony is 
emblematic of mining companies which have responded to rising 
commodity prices by opening old mines and mining more deeply, 
taking on greater safety risk.  Some companies, like 
Anglo-American, have rejected the old perception that 
fatalities were an inevitable cost of business, and have 
pressured management to place higher priority on mine safety. 
 Harmony is perceived as an agressive company that exploits 
mature mines and cuts costs.  Harmony was also criticized for 
delays in the public announcement of the mishap. 
Bost