CARLETONVILLE (mininingweekly.com) – Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane on Friday lamented the sharp rise in mining-related fatalities this year and called for “extraordinary measures” to be taken to prevent further fatalities occurring in the sector.

Speaking at a health and safety Imbizo at diversified miner Sibanye Gold's Driefontein gold operation, in Carletonville, in western Gauteng, the Minister said it was “deeply regrettable” that the bullion producer, which had been the best performer in the gold sector in 2015 in terms of health and safety numbers, had recorded the most fatalities thus far in 2016.

Zwane pointed out that, since the beginning of this year, a total of 49 fatalities had been reported by the sector, with Sibanye Gold accounting for nine of those, with the most recent one occurring at Driefontein last week.

Additionally, Zwane noted that, at the same time last year, 42 fatalities had been reported by the sector, which was a major concern for the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), organised labour and all other industry stakeholders.
 
“This is a serious setback for the sector, which recorded its lowest ever fatalities in 2015. We should not place value on profits over the lives of workers,” Zwane stated, adding that this year, the gold and platinum sectors had, to date, recorded 20 and 17 deaths, respectively. 
 
Further, the Minister highlighted that the DMR was continuing to strengthen enforcement compliance at mines by adding 38 inspectors this year to enhance enforcement efforts.

He added that the DMR, together with stakeholders, would be hosting the Mine Health and Safety Tripartite Summit before the end of the year to review progress made thus far in achieving the industry’s goal of zero harm. 

Chamber of Mines president Mike Teke said at the Imbizo that the South African mining industry was facing a “serious challenge” regarding its 2016 health and safety record, as well as its environmental impact record.

“We should not be saying that because mining is a risky business it is justifiable that some people lose their lives on mines. Therefore, the goal must be to ensure zero harm for all mine employees is achieved as a matter of utmost urgency,” he asserted.

Teke further stressed that no amount of financial assistance to the families of people who had died as a result of a mining-related incident would compensate for the pain and suffering of bereaved families.

He therefore urged mines, government and labour to go beyond their differences to save lives. “We must go beyond those differences and collaborate and build our relationships to try and save our lives.”

Sibanye gold and uranium division CEO Wayne Robinson noted at the event that the company’s management team was “very concerned” about Sibanye’s current safety performance and had embarked on a number of health and safety campaigns to root out the causes of these incidents.

“Our safety audits indicate that noncompliance with safety measures is a major cause of these recent fatality incidents. We are therefore seeking to develop a company culture whereby safety is seen as a way of life for all employees,” he remarked.

Robinson added that a key component of Sibanye’s health and safety strategy was engineering out risks. “We need to identify and fix substandard areas and we need to comply with the industry’s health and safety guidelines,” he stressed.

He also called on mine employees who discovered a safety concern on the job to stop what they were doing and fix the problematic work area or practice. Further, Robinson urged all stakeholders to work together to ensure the industry’s goal of achieving zero harm was realised.

Representatives from organised labour, namely the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the National Union of Mineworkers, UASA and Solidarity also addressed the Imbizo.

They collectively called on Sibanye to improve the working conditions of employees and to take responsibility for the loss of lives that had occurred at the company’s mines during the course of this year. The unions further voiced concern that a lot more needed to be done by the DMR to ensure that the health, safety and dignity of mine employees across all local mines was secured by holding mining companies accountable for health and safety noncompliance.