THE country’s mining fatalities and injuries fell sharply in 1999 as mine safety legislation took effect, the Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday. Only one accident was reported in 1999, when 19 miners were killed at the Mponeng Mine in an underground gas explosion, compared with an average of over eight major accidents a year in the 14 years to 1998, the chamber said in a statement. “South Africa’s total mining-related fatalities in 1999 decreased by about 30% when compared to the fatality rates for the early 1980s. The injury rate showed an improvement of more than 41% over the same period,” the chamber said.