A staff member at West Gold Plant in Orkney, North West, died immediately after collapsing at the entrance to the mine on Thursday morning, mine owner Village Main Reef Group said.

"One of our above-surface operation staff members at the West Gold Plant collapsed this morning and tragically passed away.

"The identity hasn’t been released yet since we haven’t yet contacted family members," Village Main Reef Group head of business development and communication Matt Pieterse said.

Pieterse said the death was believed to be of natural causes and not related to Covid-19.

Pieterse said the authorities and the department of mineral resources and energy were informed of the death. 

"Once we have more information and postmortem results we will be in a better position to comment, although it appears at this early stage to have been a heart attack," Pieterse said.