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/ 3 December 2007
South African Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica on Monday blamed official ”negligence” for the high level of deaths in mines, on the eve of a historic strike to press for better safety. ”I think there is an element of negligence on the part of the employers which all of us need to fight,” she said.
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/ 30 November 2007
Thabo Gazi, the chief inspector of mines, has briefed the Chamber of Mines and labour unions about the health and safety audit of mines ordered by President Thabo Mbeki. Meanwhile, the National Union of Mineworkers said on Friday that more than 40 000 mineworkers will gather ahead of next week’s safety strike.
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/ 22 November 2007
South Africa will launch a nationwide safety audit in December on all mines in the world’s largest producer of precious minerals in a bid to reduce deaths and accidents, a senior official said on Thursday. Stung by the loss of lives that union officials have called a ”genocide,” the government has vowed to temporarily shut mines whenever deaths occur.
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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
There has been an ”alarming” increase over the past year in the deadly dust disease silicosis among workers on South Africa’s gold and platinum mines, MPs heard on Wednesday. Mine doctors submitted 1 031 cases of silicosis to the Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases in 2005.