South Africa's mining industry has reached another milestone in its progress towards safety, with more than 80,000 miners killed since reaching industrial scale in the late 19th century.
Platinum group metals (PGM) producer Anplatz said in its quarterly production report on Tuesday that “there have been no fatalities at our facilities in the past 27 months, and no fatalities have occurred in any period without a fatality.” This is our longest record.”
For most companies, going two years without an employee dying in the line of duty would not be much of an accomplishment.
However, like most major mining companies in South Africa, particularly in the PGM and gold sectors, Amplats has had a dismal safety record in the past and has made intensive efforts to address this.
While the lofty goal of “zero harm” remains elusive, South Africa's deep and dangerous mines have for decades destroyed a predominantly black and immigrant workforce that was brutally exploited under apartheid. It is no longer the death trap that used to hurt and tear us apart.
In 2003, 270 miners died in on-the-job accidents in South Africa's mining sector. In 2022, the number of deaths reached an all-time low of 49 people, still one person almost every week. In 2023, it fell back to 54.
In the case of Amplats, the company, led by former CEO Chris Griffith, took a hard turn toward mechanization more than a decade ago. When Mr. Griffith took over in 2012, seven Amplats employees were fired that year, reportedly due to the firing of his predecessor over his safety record. died inside.
Read more at Daily Maverick: Safety first: Gold Fields is a natural destination for new CEO Chris Griffiths
Mechanization and automation involves machines performing tasks that human miners once performed in highly dangerous conditions, such as digging and bolting. Digital efforts also hold great promise in terms of safety.
For Amplats, the move toward mechanization, driven in part by concerns from investors who didn't want their profits to go down the drain, had big safety benefits. In 2019, the company achieved its first calendar year with no fatal accidents.
Griffiths' successor, Natasha Viljoen, and current CEO, Craig Miller, continue to maintain this relentless focus on safety.
And Mr. Miller and Mr. Amplats have hardly declared their mission accomplished. Indeed, Amplats noted a decline in the total recordable case rate (TRCFR), a measure of injuries per hour worked.
“The total recordable case frequency (TRCFR) was similar to Q4 2023 at 1.88 per million hours. However, it was down 7% compared to 1.75 per million hours previously… We continue to implement intensive safety measures to ensure each employee returns home safely each day,” Amplats said.
Mining disasters have garnered a lot of attention, including the tragedy last November when a transport elevator transporting miners to the surface suddenly reversed course and began a deadly nosedive, killing 13 Impala Platinum employees. are collecting.
Read more at Daily Maverick: Implats disaster, another mining tragedy for the people of the Eastern Cape and Lesotho
But it doesn't necessarily have to ooze to guide the story.
South Africa's mining sector is becoming safer in the face of challenging geological conditions, and this is a story that deserves public attention and scrutiny. DM
