This year has seen 15 mining-related deaths to date, a 36% increase on the 11 fatalities recorded between January 1 and March 7, 2015, according to Department of Mineral Resources Mpumalanga principal mines inspector Elliot Letsoko.

Speaking at the South African Colliery Management Association’s 2016 CoalSafe conference, in Secunda, Mpumalanga, earlier this month, Letsoko lamented the tragic loss of life that had already occurred this year.

“Every fatality is one too many; we must continue to strive to eliminate fatalities by December 2020 in the South African mining industry, in line with the . . . occupational health milestones [that the mining industry agreed on in 2014].”

He pointed out that the platinum sector was the worst-performing sector in terms of lives lost, reporting seven deaths to date – a 133% increase on the fatality figure for the same period in 2015.

There was also a 100% increase in fatalities in the gold sector, with six deaths reported to date, compared with three deaths during the same period in 2015. This number excludes the three miners trapped underground at Barberton’s Lily gold mine. Owner Vantage Goldfields has been unable to rescue these miners from the lamp room in which they were working on February 5, when a section of the mine collapsed.

However, Letsoko noted that there had been no fatalities recorded in the coal sector this year, compared with the three fatalities that occurred during the same period in 2015.

He also highlighted several coal miners that had gone for more than one year without recording any fatalities. These included South32, Coal of Africa, Exxaro Coal Central, Glencore Coal SA, Kuyasa Mining, Shanduka Coal, Msobo Coal, Sasol Coal, Universal Coal, Eastside Coal Company, Kangra Coal, Sudor Coal, Vunene Mining, THS Coal, Hlagisa Mining, Puleng Resources and Vaalbult Mining Company.

Moreover, Letsoko pointed out that there were several coal mines that had never recorded any fatalities at their operations. These included the Glisa colliery, the Vele colliery, the Leeuwpan colliery, Eastside Coal Company, the Graspan colliery, the Goedgevonden colliery, the Weltevreden colliery, the Tumelo colliery, the Forzando colliery’s South mine, the Dorstfontein colliery’s East mine, the Mafube colliery, the Kriel colliery’s surface operations, the Pembani colliery, the Ferreira opencast colliery, the Klippan colliery, the Strathrae colliery, the Wonderfontein colliery, the Kangala colliery, the Vaalbult colliery, the Usuto colliery and the Wildfontein colliery.

Letsoko stated that, although there had been a significant improvement in occupational health and safety standards across South African mines in recent years, a collective effort was still required to prevent harm from befalling mineworkers.

“It is only through continued collaboration and adequately responding to the changing landscape that zero harm can be achieved in the mining sector,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Chamber of Mines (CoM) president Mike Teke has commended the coal industry for “its continued improvement in safety performance”.

“We further note that Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane congratulated 16 companies for operating without any fatalities for a period of more than 12 months at the annual announcement of safety statistics in Pretoria in January this year.

“Five of these companies were coal mining companies including Exxaro, Sasol, Total Coal South Africa, Kuyasa Mining and Coal of Africa. The performance of these companies indicates to us that the industry’s goal of zero harm is achievable,” he stated.

Teke highlighted that, in 2015, the coal industry reported five fatalities, compared with nine in 2014, an improvement of 44%. The number of injuries reported by the coal industry had also decreased to 207 injuries during 2015, compared with 267 in 2014, an improvement of 22%.

Teke added that, while the CoM recognised that work towards ensuring that every mineworker returned from work unharmed every day must continue, the chamber was “gratified to note” the continuing improvement in safety performance across the mining industry.

“We extend our thanks to those who are involved in the rescue attempts at the Lily mine. Our thoughts continue to be with the employees and family members of those affected by this great tragedy,” he concluded.