Gold Fields’ KDC West still closed, injured discharged from hospital

crushed stone production lineJOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Goldfields on Wednesday reported that its KDC West Ya-Rona shaft, remained closed, as proto teams continued to extinguish the fire 2 800 m below the ground.
The fire, which resulted in the deaths of five employees last weekend, was contained in a worked-out area between 38 and 39 levels,gold panning equipment but Gold Fields corporate affairs manager Sven Lunsche told Mining Weekly Online it could be a few days before it is successfully doused.
KDC West remained closed under a Section-54 order, while KDC East was reopened Tuesday night.
The remaining 11 employees admitted to hospital for observation have been released. Three others were discharged earlier in the week.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation, and Gold Fields declined to comment on possible causes of the fire.
quarry crushing equipmentThe KDC West mine, which employed over 26 000 workers, produced a total of 249 700 oz for the three months ended March.