JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) yesterday amended its coronavirus regulations to allow mines to operate at 50percent capacity after the Minerals Council South Africa warned that the extension of the country’s lockdown could place 45000 jobs at risk.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said the government would allow the phased recall of workers to some mines on condition that their safety was guaranteed. He said there were risks if some deep-level mines were left unattended for a long time.
The DMRE initially instructed mining to be scaled down significantly during the lockdown, particularly deep-level mines that were labour intensive, and yesterday said that capacity would be increased by half.
“Mining operations, excluding collieries that supply Eskom, shall be conducted at a reduced capacity of 50percent during the period of the lockdown, and thereafter at increasing capacity as determined by the Cabinet member responsible for mineral resources and energy,” Mantashe said. “We must maintain a risk-based approach.”
The Minerals Council, which represents 80percent of employers in the industry, on Wednesday warned that its preliminary estimates
for a 21-day lockdown scenario
suggested that 10000 jobs would be at risk, excluding those in supplier industries.
The council said it believed that if operations had resumed after the initial 21-day lockdown, production would fall 5percent compared with last year.
“A longer period of lockdown could result in annual mining production declining by more than 15percent for the year,” said the council.
Yesterday, the department said other conditions of the phased reopening included a rigorous screening and testing programme as employees returned to work, and the provision of quarantine facilities for those who tested positive for the virus.
It said that data on screening and testing should be collected and submitted to the relevant authority.
The DMRE said mining companies also needed to make arrangements to transport their employees from their homes to their respective areas of operations.
The council said it was possible to get production above 50percent while ensuring that all the preventative and mitigating measures were in place to safeguard the health of employees.
The council’s chief executive, Roger Baxter, said it was crucial for the economy to be restarted gradually during and after the lockdown, with mitigating controls in place.
Baxter said this would help to preserve the economy while fighting Covid-19 in a systematic manner.
“We commit the industry to the prioritisation of health and safety of employees as this phase-in gathers steam, with all the preventative and mitigating controls to fight Covid-19 in place,” Baxter said. “It is Minerals Council’s view that government has adopted a pragmatic and practical approach to fighting the pandemic and enabling the economy to survive the crisis. We commit to working hard with government and organised labour in this national effort.”