Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has called for extraordinary measures to be taken to stem fatalities in the sector. Speaking at a health and safety Imbizo at Sibanye Gold's Driefontein operation, Minister Zwane said it was regrettable that the company, which was the best performer in the gold sector in 2015, was now leading with fatalities thus far in 2016. Since the beginning of this year, a total of 49 fatalities have been reported by the sector, with Sibanye Gold accounting for 10 of those. This time last year, 42 fatalities had been reported by the sector.
"This is a serious setback for the sector, which recorded its lowest ever fatalities in 2015. We should not place value on profits over the lives of workers", Minister Zwane said.
"While we are aware of the endeavours being made by the industry, we remain concerned about the safety performance of our mines," the Minister said.
This year, the gold and platinum sectors have recorded 20 and 17 deaths respectively to date.
The department is continuing to strengthen enforcement compliance at mines, and has added 38 inspectors this year to enhance enforcement. The department, together with stakeholders, will host the Mine Health and Safety Tripartite Summit before the end of this year, in an effort to review progress made thus far to achieve the goal of zero harm.
