Johannesburg - Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has come out guns blazing against the mining industry, accusing it of tarnishing the government’s integrity amid complaints that the safety stoppages process was hurting production.
Zwane defended the use of safety stoppages yesterday, and said health and safety was non-negotiable.
Zwane’s hardened stance comes in the wake of the publication of a Chamber of Mines document claiming that the industry had lost R4.8 billion in revenue last year as a result of safety stoppages.
He said in recent months, some mining firms had levelled serious allegations against him and his officials, intimating that the officials might be using the section 54 of the Mine Health and Safety Act to further their purposes.
“These allegations have the potential to tarnish the integrity of the government and undermine the legislative instruments.”
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To date, the Minister of Mineral Resources has not received any formal appeals, as prescribed for in legislation. “It is appalling behaviour by some responsible corporate citizenry of South Africa’s mining industry to be seemingly filing such appeals in the courts of public opinion,” Zwane said.
Safety concerns
The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) issues safety stoppages through section 54 notices, which require that mining companies halt production at entire mines in the event of an accident to address safety concerns.
This as safety in mining has been in the spotlight as fatalities in the country climbed to 57 so far this year, compared with 46 during the same period last year.
There has also been no progress in retrieving three mineworkers who have been trapped at Australian-owned Lily Gold Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga, since February.
Overall, the industry recorded 77 fatalities last year compared with 84 in 2014.
Mining companies had repeatedly called on the government to ease safety stoppages, saying that these had cost them production and put pressure on their bottom lines.
Chief executives of mining companies, including third-largest gold producer AngloGold Ashanti and Sibanye Gold, had complained of the impact of safety stoppages on production.
Zwane said it was the role of the government to govern and to legislate in a decisive manner.
The Chamber of Mines said it was engaging constructively with the DMR regarding implementation of section 54.
BUSINESS REPORT