An excavator operator employed by Dublin-listed exporter Kenmare Resources died following an incident at the group’s Moma mine in northern Mozambique on Saturday.
The company said initial investigations found that the dead man was involved in a fatal incident during the night shift. He was part of a team of contractor employees establishing a new dry-mining area.
Kenmare suspended all mining and processing operations at Moma following the incident for a safety stand-down and for employees to be briefed, it said.
An investigation by mine management and the police has begun. Kenmare has notified Mozambique’s ministry of mining and remains in close contact with ministry officials.
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The mine has now resumed full operation, except for the dry-mining operation where the incident occurred, which remains suspended to allow investigations to continue.
Kenmare said it is focused on providing support to the family and colleagues of the deceased.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our contractor colleague and we offer our sincerest condolences to his family and friends,” Kenmare managing director Michael Carvill said.
“We are conducting further investigations to understand why this tragedy occurred and how to prevent it from happening again.
“The safety and wellbeing of our employees and contractors is our highest priority, as was reinforced to our team by senior site leadership during the weekend’s safety stand-down.”
Kenmare has operations in more than 15 countries and is responsible for 7 per cent of global supply of titanium feedstocks. Since 2019 it has returned more than $230 million (€211 million) to shareholders through dividends and share buy-backs.
Kenmare recently reported that shipments fell in the first quarter of the year, but remained on track to meet guidance for the year.
An update for the first three months of the year yielded few surprises, with overall shipments down 11 per cent in part due to significant maintenance work on its mineral separation plant.
Production in zircon fell to 8,300 tonnes from 11,400 a year earlier, while rutile fell marginally to 1,500 tonnes, and concentrates declined from 10,100 tonnes to 9,600 tonnes.
Heavy mineral concentrate production was 316,400 tonnes, in line with 315,000 tonnes a year earlier, while ilmenite production was 205,500 tonnes, up from 204,300 tonnes in 2023.
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