FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The stats are out and the mining industry has achieved a record breaking low in deaths within the sector. The Minerals Council of South Africa reports that 49 people in the mining industry lost their lives in 2022.

“This has been the result of many organisational and industry level interventions and resolute leadership from, particularly, the industry CEOs initiating and supporting multi-tier projects as part of the Khumbul’ekhaya strategy,” says Lerato Tsele, Acting Head of Safety and Sustainable Development at the Minerals Council.

The Minerals Council did express their condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who passed away, and re-affirmed their commitment to the Zero Harm initiative.

“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,” says Tsele.

The industry reported a total of 1,946 serious injuries in 2022, down from 2,123 in 2021. 2 There were reductions of between 19% and 47% in fatalities across all commodities, while iron ore and manganese reported no fatalities during 2022.

“Ensuring safe and healthy working environments remains an unwavering commitment of the Minerals Council and its members. While the reduction in fatalities in 2022 is a welcome step change from the previous two years, the number of deaths on our mines remains unacceptable,” says Tsele.