Three miners from Aggeneys have tested positive for Covid-19 after traveling interprovincially and quarantining at home.
The Black Mountain Complex has confirmed that three of their employees have tested positive for the coronavirus after travelling to Cape Town for medical reasons.
According to Pieter van Greunen, general manager of Vedanta Zinc International’s Gamsberg Mine, as a part of a Covid-19 return-to-work plan all employees that have travelled interprovincially are required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days when returning from high risk zones.
Upon their return from the Western Cape the employees were immediately confined to their homes for several days as a prerequisite.
Van Greunen says therefore they had had no operational contact with colleagues or the mining site before testing positive on their return.
“Although the employees were not on site during this time, we have implemented various preventative strategies to safeguard our employees and to a large extend the communities in which we operate.”
He says some of these procedures include Covid-19 awareness and training for all employees, daily temperature screening for all people entering the mine, strict traveling procedures to and from the workplace, social distancing and hygiene measures as well as a work from home policy for non-critical staff.
“At the Black Mountain complex, we take the health and safety of our employees and stakeholders very seriously and part of this is ensuring we communicate timeously on all aspects effecting our community, Van Greunen says.
“The mine also continues to provide support to local communities through various Covid-19 initiatives such as the department of health with screening in Khai-Ma Local Municipality area, distributing food parcels to the most vulnerable households in the Namakwa District, and manufactured and distributed over 8 000 face masks as part of their community upliftment program,” Van Greunen adds.
