Half of SA mining fatalities at one company

MINERAL Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe yesterday said he was worried that out of 45 fatalities this year, 20 were at one company, Sibanye-Stillwater.

“That worries us a great deal. It is not that we ignore it, we are looking at it,” Mantashe said.

He made the statement when he briefed the media in Pretoria on the draft mining charter released on Friday for public comments.

Mantashe said the acting chief inspector of mines was compiling a report after almost half of the fatalities were recorded at Sibanye-Stillwater operations this year.

“This will enable us to take appropriate action, guided by the Mine Health and Safety Act, as opposed to a knee-jerk reaction,” Mantashe said.

The minister noted that the gold mining industry was far ahead of other sectors when it came to fatalities.

“We are paying attention to that issue as a team. We wish to reiterate our commitment that mining is not about rocks. It is about people,” Mantashe said.

“Once you lose that and think it is about rocks, minerals and prices, then you have lost the plot. Mining is about human beings. If you ignore human beings, you will not have mining.”

Mantashe also said his department had suspended one of their officials for allowing mining operations to continue despite accidents, and in exchange extorting bribes.

“In the case that is alleged in Mpumalanga is a person who wanted R150000 to lift Section 54. We are dealing with that case and will pronounce on its outcome.”

Mantashe said his department was committed to addressing these challenges.

He also said the department had decided to suspend administrative work at their Limpopo office following intimidation of their regional manager, who was assaulted and left for dead.

“When he went back he received a parcel with a bullet inside, a threat. We won’t allow mining to be given to thugs and criminals in Limpopo. We are suspending our operations. There will be a small administrative staff and everything else will be done at head office until we understand what the threat is, what the risks are.”

Mantashe warned that they could reopen the Limpopo office or close it forever.

He said the department’s summit would be held next month ahead of the July 27 deadline for submission of the draft mining charter.

Once the draft charter was finalised it would be subjected to a socio-economic impact assessment to assess the likely impact on the economy and society in general.

After this it would be submitted to the cabinet for approval and then gazetted for implementation.