Harmony closes Doornkop gold mine after fatality

Harmony Gold has suspended operations at its Doornkop Plant in South Africa after a fatality occurred at the site, it was confirmed on Tuesday (August 25th).

The world's fifth-largest gold producer revealed that a worker died following an accident involving a conveyor belt at the facility on Monday.

According to a Reuters report, the company is set to team up with government officials to investigate the cause of the fatality, with production temporarily suspended.

Such incidents have traditionally caused miners to lose output, which can often lead to increased demand for Buying Gold and subsequently send prices higher.

The news comes after DRDGOLD, the fourth-largest gold producer in South Africa, revealed last week that its annual output for the 2009 fiscal year fell by 20 percent.

Total production declined to 247,690 ounces for the period, while its operating profit slumped 26 percent to $35 million.

The decline can be explained by the suspension of underground mining at its ERPM operation in Q2, while volumes were altered at its Crown facility following the decommissioning of one section.

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