Deaths spike in SA’s mines

The 2017 death toll in SA’s mines has already surpassed the 2016 figure, ending nine straight years of falling fatalities and raising red flags for the industry, government and labour groups.

The trend reversal is likely to reignite investor concern over mine safety and could prompt regulators to step up shaft inspections, which often result in production stoppages.

“Fatal accidents last week raised the number of fatalities to 76, above the 73 reported in 2016,” the Chamber of Mines stated. The chamber said there had been several fatalities in recent weeks because of seismic activity.

Anglo American Platinum CEO Chris Griffith, who heads the chamber’s Zero Harm Forum, said the industry, government and labour needs to “accelerate initiatives that could improve this performance”.

Department of mineral resources spokesperson Fidel Ha- debe said “the department will certainly be stepping up efforts around this issue”, including closing operations for non-compliance with safety regulations.

Solidarity’s Paul Mardon said there were concerns that production pressures were compromising safety as workers worried about their jobs in a difficult economic climate.

He added there was a worrying trend in the size and frequency of “fall of ground” incidents. This could point to geological or other structural issues.

For all the dangers, the industry had been making significant safety strides. In 1993, 615 miners died in the pits. By 2009 the number dropped to 167 and kept falling, reaching a record low of 73 in 2016, according to Chamber data. – Reuters