In a later statement released on May 29, the company said that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) had completed an inspection of the scene of the second accident and subsequently had issued a Section 54 order, placing a moratorium on all workshop-related activities across the mine, pending the completion of a report back to the DMR. This effectively stopped all production from the mine.

At the time of the order issuance, South Deep’s management estimated that, as a consequence of the Section 54 stoppage, there would be a dropoff of approximately 300 kg (9,645 oz) of gold production by the end of the week. An estimated 200 kg (6,430 oz) more would be deferred due to the reassessing of working practices in all workshops and safety control systems on the mechanized mining fleet.

However, the DMR lifted the order late on May 30 subject to implementation of a number of specific remedial actions and instructions. Operations resumed in the Twin Shaft area first, followed by the South Shaft area.

Nick Holland, CEO of Gold Fields, said, “These latest incidents have expedited a recently commenced and comprehensive review of all safety protocols, procedures and standards across the mine, because if we cannot mine safely, we will not mine. We will act decisively to address any weaknesses identified by the review.”

Holland explained that a new management team, appointed at the beginning of this year, had concluded a comprehensive review of all safety protocols, procedures and standards, in line with the team's mandate to improve the mechanized mining culture at the mine, with specific emphasis on introducing international best practice standards on equipment availability and utilization, as well as the mechanized mining skills of employees.

The safety review indicated that approximately 1,000 m of legacy ground support in some of the ramps serving production areas in the older part of the mine are below the best practice standards at the company’s other mines and present a safety risk. At this stage of the build-up process, approximately 70% of the mine's production comes from these older areas of the mine above 95 level.

The remediation will take approximately four months to complete, starting in June. The impact on production for this year is expected to be a dropoff of approximately 1,500 kg (48,225 oz).

“However, we cannot at this point in time guarantee that there will not be other issues identified by the new management team, which may further impact [production] guidance for the year,” said Holland.

He added, “Central to the new management team’s efforts to rebase the mine, is the need for the introduction and enforcement of greater levels of accountability and responsibility at all levels in the organization and to improve skills levels across the board. In addition, the team has concluded that the mine has more equipment and people than is required. Both of these are prerequisites for an improved safety culture and improved productivity, which are deemed critical to de-risk the mine’s build-up to full production and ensure that South Deep achieves its full potential. Discussions have commenced with the trade unions to agree on the way forward on these issues.”