JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on Tuesday criticised certain mining companies for suggesting that its use of Section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA), which compels producers to stop operations so that investigations can take place, furthers its own purposes.
Mining majors AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American Platinum earlier this month said the DMR used Section 54 of the MHSA too frequently, resulting in lost output for the miners.
“There are provisions for recourse built into the MHSA, where a party who’s been issued with Section 54 notices and believes them issued without grounds, can challenge the said issuing,” the DMR said.
It added Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane had not received any formal appeals as prescribed for in the legislation.
“The Minister reaffirms the importance of safety audits to determine the levels of compliance, on the basis of which corresponding corrective actions shall be instituted without deviation to the prescript,” the DMR said.
It further highlighted that health and safety in the mining sector under the democratic government was nonnegotiable.