Safety improves despite Beatrix

The recent accident at the Beatrix gold mine has once again focused attention on the South African mining industry’s safety performance.

This tragic event, which claimed 12 lives, shocked and saddened all the stakeholders, including the mining industry, trade unions and government.

It came at a time when gold mining and the mining industry in general were beginning to register progress in terms of reducing injuries and fatalities in the workplace.

The accident at Beatrix aside, South Africa’s mining industry has made significant strides in improving its safety performance during the past few years.

This new initiative has resulted in a considerable reduction in injuries and fatality rates across the sector. Given what has been happening in the industry over the past 15 years, the South African Chamber of Mines is confident this trend will continue to improve as the industry introduces innovations and initiatives designed to improve safety.

This should have obvious and positive spinoffs for both mining and the national economy. These initiatives include the reintroduction of many measures that were used successfully during the early 20th century, a period that saw a clear reduction in fatality rates in the industry.

The major mineral sectors and employers will be at the forefront of increasing mine safety — more so, given the fact that gold, platinum and coal mines together account for more than 86% of the South African mining industry’s employees (gold mining 51.7%, platinum 21%, and coal 13.4%).

The total number of accidents in the gold mining sector decreased 9% between 1998 and 1999, while the number of fatalities fell 15%. In addition, there were 39 fewer fatalities across the industry in 1999 in comparison with the average rate for the previous 15 years. That represents a drop of 13%.

Equally impressive was the performance of coal, with the total number of accidents in that sector decreasing 20% between 1998 and 1999, while fatalities fell 33%.

This is a remarkable achievement if one considers that coal is the country’s second-largest mining sector after gold, with total sales of R17.6 billion in 1999 and an average employment figure of 53,000 constituting nearly 1% of South Africa’s total employment.

The number of accidents in platinum mines shrank 2.5% during the same period, with fatalities down 11% and injuries down 2.4%.

Looking at all this from a broader perspective, there is no doubt that improvements in mine safety have contributed to economic growth in South Africa.

Other plans, either in place or in the offing, include an awards scheme for good safety records and a communications program.

— The author is the deputy communications adviser with the Johannesburg-based South African Chamber of Mines.

The accident at Beatrix aside, South Africa’s mining industry has made significant strides in improving its safety performance during the past few years.