In a scathing judgment, the Labour Court has overturned a safety stoppage at AngloGold Ashanti’s Kopanang mine and addressed the core concern mining companies have about the way the Department of Mineral Resources’ safety officials implement stoppages. For the past two years, mining executives have become increasingly outspoken in their frustration with the way mine safety has been handled, with shutdowns ordered by the department’s inspectors of entire mines for violations of the Mine Health and Safety Act in sections of the mines. The Chamber of Mines has estimated the cost of the safety stoppages between 2012 and 2015 at R13.6bn in lost revenue, excluding the losses incurred in restarting mines. The trend has nearly doubled the value put on shutdowns, rising to R4.8bn last year from R2.6bn in 2012. "We believe that the Labour Court has, in this case, clarified the limits on the powers of the inspectorate," the chamber’s CE, Roger Baxter, said on Monday. It was in line with the in...
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