Coronavirus infections shut down world's deepest gold mine

The world's deepest gold mine has been temporarily closed after 164 workers were found infected with coronavirus, the BBC reports.

South Africa's Mponeng mine, which extends as far as 4km below the Earth's surface, was closed during the country's national lockdown, which began on March 23.

The Mponeng mine, located 75km south-west of Johannesburg, was reopened in April but was functioning only at half-capacity.

Workers, however, expressed concern about their safety and last week a single case of COVID-19 was identified.

The company responsible for running the mine, AngloGold Ashanti, was forced to put the brakes on all operations and said it is now attempting to sanitise the location.

About 650 workers have since been tested and those with positive test results placed into isolation.

South Africa currently has 22,583 COVID-19 cases, the highest of any nation in Africa, with 10,104 recovered and 429 killed.

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