Security worker killed in attack on Harmony Gold plant in South Africa (updated)
20/12/2019 10:49
(Adds context, quote)
By Helen Reid
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A security contractor was
killed on Friday in an armed attack on a Harmony Gold HARJ.J
plant about 330 km (205 miles) from Johannesburg, the latest
fatal incident at a mining company in South Africa.
High gold prices are making processing plants a target for
criminals in South Africa, leading to a spate of armed robberies
at mining operations.
No gold was stolen from Harmony's Kalgold plant in the
attack in the early hours of Friday, the company said, adding
the South African Police Service was investigating the incident.
In a similar incident in October, armed men broke into a
metallurgical plant owned by DRDGOLD DRDJ.J , killing the gold
miner's chief security officer and stealing calcine concentrate
containing an estimated 17 kg of gold. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2772S7
Escalating violence targeting some of its workers drove
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto RIO.AX to curtail operations
at its South African unit Richards Bay Minerals, which mines
ilmenite, rutile, and zircon, earlier this month. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N28D3SK
The price of gold - in U.S. dollars - has surged more than
15% this year, the strongest gain in the precious metal's value
since 2010. XAU=
In a country on the brink of recession, with unemployment at
an 11-year high, illegal gold mining and trading, and armed
robberies of gold plants, are an attractive prospect for many.
"A reaction unit supervisor employed by a contracted
security company was fatally wounded in an armed attack on the
plant... in the early hours of this morning," Harmony Gold said
in a statement.
Due to the ongoing police investigation Harmony said it
would give no further information on the incident for the time
being.
(Reporting by Helen Reid; editing by David Evans and Susan
Fenton)
((Helen.Reid@thomsonreuters.com; +27 11 595 2852;))