Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe has released the fatalities in the mining industry and the numbers are the lowest.
BusinessTech Africa understands that in 2022, South Africa registered 49 fatalities which is the lowest to date.
The number comes as the industry, government, and labour collaborated to reduce the death, injury, and occupational disease, which have posed significant risks to South Africa’s mineworkers for decades.
The statistics from the Mine Health and Safety for 2022 as presented by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on Tuesday, that 49 fatalities represent the lowest number yet, translating to a 34% improvement from 74 fatalities reported in 2021.
There was a notable reduction in mine deaths from fall-of-ground accidents, which dropped from 20 in 2021 to six in 2022 – Mantashe said this is a milestone.
“We’re encouraged that our collective efforts continue to show a downward trend,” said Mantashe.
“In 2019, we registered 51 fatalities, and we said that was a record. We slipped back in 2020 to about 65 … and in 2021 to 74. Now we’re registering 49 fatalities in the industry, which is a new record in terms of the number of fatalities [but] that record is a milestone; it is not the target.”
Per the report by Fin24, the gold sector accounted for 15 fatalities in 2022 and which is a notable improvement from 30 in 2021.
Looking at the platinum sector accounted for 18 fatalities – it improved from 21 fatalities in 2021 – while the coal sector recorded five fatalities compared to 10 in the previous year, and “other” mines recorded 11, compared to 13 in the year before.
Speaking for the Minerals Council of South Africa Zero Harm Forum, chairperson Japie Fullard said that when the new month starts on Wednesday, January 2023 will be the first January in the industry’s history to be fatality free.
“Health and safety are like sweeping water uphill; you can never stop,” he noted.
Said Lerato Tsele, the council’s acting head of safety and sustainable development said: “The significant step change in safety during 2022, following the record low number of fatalities of 51 in 2019, proves that we are back on the right track with our safety initiatives but that there’s a lot of hard work ahead of us.”
“We must maintain constant vigilance and safety management in partnership and collaboration with all our stakeholders to achieve our goal of zero harm.”
The statistics presented by the DMRE on Tuesday highlight several areas that require attention.
In addition, on the back of the tragic Jagersfontein tailings disaster, UASA’s Alwyn van Heerden called on the DMRE to reclaim oversight processing facilities.
The dam collapsed in the mining area and it was determined that because mining activity had ceased.
“Coming out from underground [and] going home…if you can’t eat properly, you can’t wash properly…you go back to work… [but] people are not rested well,” he said.
“I think we really need to look at the big mining companies. If we can get our own energy going, minister, please let’s do it.”
