A worker was crushed to death by a mining vehicle at Hunan Gold Corporation's Yangshanzhuang gold mine last week, prompting local authorities to temporarily halt production at the site pending an investigation.
The fatality on October 16th is the latest safety incident for the major gold producer in Hunan province. Hunan Gold subsidiaries have suffered multiple deaths and been ordered to suspend operations over the past 12 months.
In July, a contractor's employee died after a rock burst at subsidiary Hunan Xinlong Mining's headquarters mine, leading to a temporary shutdown. Earlier in 2023, parts of Hunan Gold Cave's Huajiawan mine were idled after a worker died of sudden illness.
Last December, a contractor's worker was killed dismantling equipment also at Xinlong's mine, resulting in a total suspension. In October 2022, Xinlong and another Hunan Gold subsidiary stopped production temporarily for safety checks after provincial officials urged mining companies to rectify hazards.
The recurring incidents, deaths and suspensions highlight persistent risks in China's gold mining industry despite improvements in recent years. In January 2021, an explosion at a gold mine in Shandong province killed 10 workers who were trapped underground.
According to China's National Mine Safety Administration, mining accidents and fatalities have steadily declined over the past decade but remain higher than in many countries. Over the past five years since 2018, the number of mining accidents and fatalities has decreased from an annual average of 890 accidents and 1,323 deaths in the previous five years to an annual average of 460 accidents and 614 deaths.
Hunan Gold said Yangshanzhuang mine has halted production since October 18th pending an investigation of the latest fatality. The mine produced 231kg of gold last year.
Amid the incidents, Hunan Gold has grown its mining operations amid ongoing consolidation in China's non-ferrous metal mining sector. As of December 2022, it owned exploration and mining rights to, respectively, 24 and 12 mines in China.
Last year, it reported revenue of 21.0 billion yuan (US$2.87 billion) and profits of 437 million yuan, up from 10.3 billion yuan and 302 million yuan respectively in 2017.
According to its 2022 annual report, the Hunan Gold group of companies produced 48,058kg of gold last year, including 3,179kg of high-purity gold. The group also produced 30,715 metric tons of antimony products and 2,033t of tungsten products.
