Gold mining found to be most deadly

Gold mining was found to be the biggest culprit when it came to mine deaths, according to David Msiza, chairperson of the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC), during the occupational health and safety summit.

A joint statement released yesterday by hosts MHSC and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe claims the aim of the summit is for stakeholders to “collectively assess progress made in attaining the objective of ‘every mineworker returning from work unharmed every day’ and to [devise] solutions that will assist the industry to improve the current situation”.

Statistics show that although gold mining claimed the most lives through fatal accidents, deaths in the sector have decreased when compared to the same period in the previous year.

Deputy chief inspector of mines Xolile Mbonambi revealed in his overview of occupational health and safety performance that a total of 69 fatal accidents had occurred from January 1 to October 16, 2018, compared to 70 during the same period last year.

Mantashe made a number of demands in an effort to motivate mines to work towards their common goal: avoid putting pressure on workers, pushing production targets; managers should not shout and threaten workers and managers should appreciate that this industry is about people and not just about minerals.

Mantashe also alerted mine workers of their rights and insisted that there needed to be more education around that.

“Workers are protected by the law to refuse to work in dangerous places. If owners don’t educate their workers about that, unions must educate their members about that.”

The summit continues today.