Dineo Faku
GOLD Fields was the biggest contributor to fatalities in the South African mining industry with 10 deaths reported so far this year, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Godfrey Oliphant said yesterday.
Five miners died at the Ya Rona shaft in the west section of the Kloof Driefontein Complex (KDC) last month following a fire. The mine reopened on Monday but the Ya Rona shaft remains closed as the fire has not been extinguished.
“We find it unacceptable that Gold Fields still continues to be the major contributor of the carnage of workers in the mining sector, with 10 workers having lost their lives this year to date. It is also of great concern that Driefontein mine remains the main source of (the) death of mine workers, followed by Gold Fields’ Beatrix operations,” he said.
Speaking at a day of mourning held for the five employees who died at the KDC West mine, Oliphant said there had been 63 deaths across the mining industry this year.
He said there were 27 deaths in the gold industry, 21 at platinum mines, seven at the countries collieries and eight at various other mines.
On Monday Gold Fields reported that the Department of Mineral Resources had agreed to the re-opening of KDC West. The Ya Rona shaft would, however, remain closed while investigations into the cause of the accident continued.
Oliphant said: “An inquiry will be held into this tragedy to determine the root causes and to ensure that it is not repeated ever again. We expect heads to roll if any negligence has been found on the part of any person.”
He said now was the time for mine executives to take responsibility for what was happening in their organisations, in respect of the health and safety of mineworkers.
Sietse van der Woude, the head of safety at the Chamber of Mines, said he was sorry that 63 people had been killed at mines this year. “We want to see all employees go home safely every day, we will work hard to reduce fatalities.”
Van der Woude said fatalities had dropped 55 percent to 123 last year from 217 in 2003. The programme of action adopted by the chamber included implementation of a culture transformation framework, training 40 000 health and safety representatives, adopting leading practice and conducting research on new technologies to mine safely.
Oliphant said the ministry would deal with concerns from firms that were saying that section 54 safety stoppages were a threat to profits.
“We want to state categorically that it is mischievous to regard section 54 as the contributor to the loss of production. This flies in the face of the reality that mine operational challenges are contributing significantly to low production,” the deputy minister said.
On Monday, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu chaired a meeting with a mining industry growth, development and employment task team to discuss inconsistencies in the application of section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act.
Section 54, which entails the closure of mines by officials from the Department of Mineral Resources following mine accidents, has been highly criticised by producers for denting production.
Gold Fields shares closed 2.4 percent higher at R102.50 on the JSE yesterday.