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/ 18 October 2007
South Africa’s mining industry, which records an average of 200 fatalities every year, is seeking to reduce death rates by at least 20% by 2013, the Chamber of Mines said on Thursday. ”To be world-class by 2013, an annual milestone of reducing fatality rates by at least 20% a year is needed,” the chamber’s chief executive said.
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/ 18 October 2007
The world’s biggest producer of platinum, Anglo Platinum, said on Thursday it shut a shaft at its largest operation on Wednesday after one worker was killed, sending platinum prices to a new record. Simon Tebele, a spokesperson at AngloPlat, could not say for how long the Paardekraal shaft in Rustenburg would be closed.
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/ 17 October 2007
South Africa’s Northam Platinum said on Wednesday it expected to lose about 1 000 ounces per day of output after shutting its mine early on Tuesday when a worker was killed in a rockfall. The mine — the world’s deepest platinum mine — produces about 325 000 PGM ounces of platinum a year.
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/ 17 October 2007
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday that it had struck a double-digit wage deal with platinum miner Lonmin. The trade union said it had signed a new two-year wage agreement with Lonmin that would see workers getting 10% in the first year and 8% in the second year.
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/ 16 October 2007
Last year I had the difficult responsibility of addressing a memorial service at AngloGold’s Tau Tona mine, where five miners perished under the rocks. The recovery process was drawn out and emotionally tormenting. I kept imagining the grim faces of the families. At such times my imagination is not driven by a scavenging process that seeks a target to blame, writes Frans Baleni.
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/ 16 October 2007
The National Union of Mineworkers has approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to arbitrate in a wage dispute with Bombela Civils Joint Venture, the principal contractor on the Gautrain project. NUM spokesperson Bhekani Ngcobo said the union lodged papers with the CCMA on Monday.
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/ 10 October 2007
Four miners died in separate, unrelated incidents at Gold Fields mines 10km from each other in Westonaria on Wednesday afternoon. Three of the mine workers were killed when they were hit by a skip loaded with spillage rock in the Four Shaft complex of Kloof Gold Mine near Westonaria on Wednesday, said Gold Fields.
President Thabo Mbeki ordered a safety review on Friday of all South Africa’s mines after a successful operation to rescue thousands of workers who were trapped underground. A statement from his office said Mbeki had called on Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica to conduct an across-the-board audit following the accident.
The last miner among about 3Â 200 trapped two kilometres underground for over 30 hours at Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine near Carletonville was rescued on Thursday night. He was welcomed by Harmony chairperson Patrice Motsepe and by Minerals and Energy Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.
Mining is and always will be a dangerous business. But every time there is a seismic event, a rockfall, or, as happened this week, a broken lift, a new round of muttering begins.
Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine near Carletonville has been shut down for up to six weeks after the mine’s main exit was blocked, trapping 3 200 miners underground, the Minerals and Energy Department said on Thursday. About 800 miners remained trapped more than 2,2km underground by 4pm on Thursday.
About 1Â 250 miners remained trapped more than 2,2km underground in Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine near Carletonville on Thursday after an all-night rescue mission. The mine’s general manager, Stan Bierschenk, said the morale of workers still stuck below ground was ”fairly brittle”.
Almost 600 miners of the 3 200 trapped underground have been rescued from Harmony Gold’s Elandsrand mine on Thursday morning. The cause of the accident was in dispute, the National Union of Mineworkers attributing it to a rock fall, the company saying a pipe carrying chilled water down the shaft, to cool air underground, broke and damaged equipment.
The deaths of four miners in a rockfall forced a halt to production at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng underground mine on Monday while safety checks were carried out, the company said. Increasing deaths at South Africa’s deep and treacherous underground mines have thrust safety into the spotlight in a country where about 200 miners are killed in accidents every year.
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/ 28 September 2007
The builders of Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium have admitted they are behind schedule because of several strikes by workers, but have promised to catch up soon. The admission differs markedly from the denial by Cape Town and 2010 officials, who insist all is on track.
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/ 11 September 2007
South Africa’s biggest mining union said on Monday it may strike to force mining companies to focus on the safety of workers, following a spate of recent deaths at mines. About 200 miners are killed in accidents at South African mines every year, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary Frans Baleni said.
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/ 3 September 2007
A strike by some workers at Angloplat refineries and smelter has not curbed output, the world’s biggest platinum producer said on Tuesday. Other employees were still on the job after 1 500 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) downed tools
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/ 2 September 2007
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa has joined the African National Congress (ANC) presidential succession race, according to weekend media reports. The ANC’s powerful OR Tambo district in the Eastern Cape has formally stated that it will nominate Ramaphosa for the presidency. Regional secretary Mlamli Siyakholwa said that "we have been lobbying Ramaphosa, I must admit".
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/ 1 September 2007
South African unions have wrested hefty wage increases from employers, wielding strikes as weapons at a time of high inflation and strong performance in the key mining sector and government surpluses. The strength of unions, traditionally allied with the left wing of the African National Congress (ANC), could become critical with a looming showdown over who will succeed President Thabo Mbeki as president of the ANC.
The Chamber of Mines signed an agreement on Thursday with three unions over wages in the coal-mining sector. The chamber’s negotiator in the coal sector, Eric Nwedo, said the agreement would increase wages of higher-paid workers by between 7,5% and 8,5%. Lower-paid employees would get a 10% increase.