Underground operations at the Vatukoula Gold Mine shut down

Underground operations at the Vatukoula Gold Mine were shut down yesterday because of safety reasons.

Minister for Mineral Resources Faiyaz Koya says all workers working underground have been called up.

He says they are doing a full audit of the Gold Mine after a couple of incidents underground where some workers had received injuries.

Koya says a rock had fallen on a worker sometime back while he was working underground.

Meanwhile the Corporate Services Manager of the Vatukoula Gold Mines Dinny Laufenboeck says the Mineral Resources Department has requested that workers be withdrawn from the underground mine workings as a precautionary measure while they work together with Vatukoula Gold to carry out a safety audit. 

She says ground conditions in recent weeks have resulted in three incidents which include a fatality and two lost time injuries.

She says all workers continue to be employed.

Laufenboeck says the audit has not commenced yet and it is not possible to say when it might be expected to finish.