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Mine safety a casualty of too many distractions, say unions as 2016 statistics show marginal improvement

Mineral Resources Minister Mosebezi Zwane

Mineral Resources Minister Mosebezi Zwane

Photo by Duane Daws

19th January 2017

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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RANDFONTEIN (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s mining stakeholders need to “go back to the drawing board” and refocus efforts on bringing down the number of fatalities in the sector, trade union Solidarity's deputy general secretary for occupational health and safety and sustainable development Advocate Paul Mardon said, as a marginal improvement in the industry’s 2016 health and safety performance was reported on Thursday.

The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on Thursday reported a particularly challenging 2016 for health and safety at mines, with 73 fatalities officially recorded in the mining sector for the year.

While this is a 5% decrease on the 77 fatalities reported in the prior year, the official statistics excluded the three workers trapped underground at the Lily mine, in Barberton, in February last year, in an incident that will now be the subject of a formal official inquiry led by DMR principal inspector of mines Monageng Mothiba.

Health and safety leaders from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), UASA and Solidarity, addressing a DMR briefing at Harmony Gold’s Randfontein headquarters, questioned the focus and commitment of the mining industry, with collective calls for partnerships to tackle the safety concerns.

The unions voiced their disappointment over what seemed to be complacency in attitudes to mineworkers’ safety on the back of this negligible improvement year-on-year, as four fatalities have already been recorded during the first month of this year, with accusations of distractions across the board permitting slacking on safety at mines.

“The NUM is disappointed that there is no improvement on fatal accidents for the period under review. It is against the consistent decrease we have been observing for the past few years, which could be interpreted as the lack of commitment towards zero harm,” said NUM health and safety chairperson Peter Bailey.

“It appears that the mining industry is losing its focus and commitment as far as health and safety is concerned,” agreed Mardon, adding that the reciprocal trust, respect and cooperation that were indispensable for health and safety at work displayed aspects of disintegration as tension between stakeholders built up.

“When workers fight against each other, the employers relax the health and safety procedures, standards and policies which leads to the spike in fatalities and injuries,” Bailey added, pointing out that the constant war between unions is detrimental.

Further, in addition to union rivalry, the tension between the mining companies and the DMR over Section 54 stoppages also contributed to a decrease in focus and concentration on safety and health in the workplace, Solidarity said.

The application of Section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act has come under scrutiny in recent months, with the latest speculation emerging from a Miningmx media article that reports that Sibanye Gold is allegedly planning a R26-million claim against the DMR to claim for damages endured through a number of allegedly “unfair” Section 54 stoppages at its Kroondal platinum mine.

This followed the Labour Court’s criticism late last year of the mine safety inspectorate’s “outside of the bounds of rationality” enforcement of mine safety legislation after AngloGold Ashanti’s Kopanang mine was hit with a Section 54 stoppage which brought the entire mine to a standstill and cost the company some R9.5-million a day.

Chamber of Mines president Mike Teke agreed that safety was key, but that the Section 54 instructions needed to be proportional to the potential harm that they were intended to prevent.

The NUM believed the Section 54 instructions were meant to save the lives of mineworkers, a sentiment echoed by AMCU and UASA, with the decrease in fatalities a direct result of the guidelines set forth in the framework.

Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane told media that the department was not at war with Sibanye or AngloGold Ashanti, pointing out that general disagreements formed part of the process involved in developing a safer sector.

IMPROVING TRENDS
Zwane pointed out that significant gains had been made in improving health and safety since 1994, while Teke explained that the past two decades had seen an 88% decline in fatal accidents.

NUM said that, in 2012, some 112 fatal accidents were reported, decreasing significantly to 94 fatal accidents in 2013. In 2014, there were 84 fatal accidents, followed by 77 fatalities in 2015.

“While fewer people lost their lives during 2016, we are disappointed that there have been any deaths at all,” Teke commented.

The 2016 statistics suggest that the major gold and platinum mines remain the biggest contributors to accidents and the subsequent loss of lives, with 30 fatalities in the gold sector, 27 in platinum, four in coal and 12 in other mines, which include diamonds, chrome, copper and iron-ore.

“This is regrettable, as we believe that these mines should be at the forefront in terms of the development of appropriate systems and expertise to enhance health and safety,” he said.

While the fatalities reported by the gold, coal and other mining sectors during 2016 showed a respective decrease of 9%, 20% and 33%, the platinum sector reported an increase in the number of fatalities of 29% from 21 in 2015 to 27 in 2016.

“It is of particularly great concern that, during 2016, there was an increase in fall of ground- (FoG-) related fatalities, an area where the industry has made such great strides in recent years,” Teke noted.

FoG accidents accounted for 33% of the fatalities, followed by general accidents, at 21%, which included slip and fall cases, falls from heights, and fires with the associated exposure to dust, gas and fumes. Transport-related accidents accounted for 14% of the fatalities.

LILY MINE
In February 2016, a sinkhole at the Lily mine claimed the lives of three surface workers, the bodies of whom have yet to be recovered, owing to two subsequent major FoGs that occurred a week after the initial accident that had caused further deterioration of ground conditions and contributed to the complexity of the rescue operations.

The investigation into the underlying causes of this accident started last year and has now been converted into a formal inquiry, Zwane said.

“The department has initiated discussions with the National Prosecuting Authority to strengthen the ability to prosecute those who are negligent in their responsibilities, in as far as fatalities, injuries and occupational diseases in the sector are concerned,” he added.

The DMR will continue engaging and collaborating with stakeholders to ensure that the health and safety of workers in the sector is prioritised.

“As I have indicated before, we cannot afford to relax as a result of the consistent improvements we have realised over the years. On fatalities, the objective remains zero harm,” Zwane assured.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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